Legal & Planning support center
Practical legal and paperwork planning to reduce family stress during emergencies or transitions.
What you'll find here: Benefit appeals support, timeline templates, and document-prep checklists.
Time-sensitive update
A 401(k) with your current employer can often wait under the still-working exception, but a traditional IRA cannot. Its first required withdrawal is due by December 31 no matter your job status, and missing it brings a steep IRS penalty. Confirm which rule applies to each account you own before the year closes.
Date to note: IRA withdrawal due December 31, 2026
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More large 401(k) plans are adding an option that turns part of a balance into guaranteed monthly income without a rollover. Here's what to confirm before you take it, or roll over instead.
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A will and a living trust do different jobs in an estate plan, and many retirees only budget for one. Compare what each covers, what probate means for your family, and whether you need both.
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More workers are carrying 401(k) loans into their final working years, and an unpaid balance can turn into a taxable distribution the moment you separate from your employer. Here's the order to work through before your last day.
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Keep legal aid and paperwork meetings focused on deadlines, documents, and next actions.
Rules, enrollment windows, and filing dates can close quickly. This guide is the best next step if you only have 10 minutes today.
Will vs. Trust: What Each One Actually CoversMore large 401(k) plans are adding an option that turns part of a balance into guaranteed monthly income without a rollover. Here's what to confirm before you take it, or roll over instead.
Legal & PlanningA will and a living trust do different jobs in an estate plan, and many retirees only budget for one. Compare what each covers, what probate means for your family, and whether you need both.
Legal & PlanningMore workers are carrying 401(k) loans into their final working years, and an unpaid balance can turn into a taxable distribution the moment you separate from your employer. Here's the order to work through before your last day.
Legal & Planning
A new federal deduction gives taxpayers 65 and older up to $6,000 off taxable income, $12,000 for a qualifying couple, through 2028. Check the income limit and confirm you're claiming it correctly.
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A $44.4 million settlement just added to a larger case that's restoring retirement funds an insurer and a plan administrator mismanaged for thousands of participants. Here's how to check your own old plans for the same problem.
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A beneficiary form on your 401(k), IRA, or life insurance policy pays out exactly as written, no matter what your will says. Here's how to check every form and fix an outdated one.
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A market drop in your first years of retirement can do lasting damage even when long-term returns are fine. Size and build a stable cash reserve before you start withdrawing.
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Most retirees claim Social Security early and let their IRA grow untouched until the first required withdrawal at 73. A new analysis shows reversing that order can be worth real money.
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More retirees are working past 73, and that changes the required-withdrawal math. A current employer's 401(k) can often wait. A traditional IRA cannot. Confirm which rule applies to each account before you skip a withdrawal.
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New HSA contributions stop once you enroll in Medicare, but the money already in the account keeps its tax-free status. Here's what you can still pay for, and the one thing it won't cover.
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A bigger 2027 Social Security check sounds simple, but crossing the $109,000 Medicare income line adds real cost two years later. Check where your income actually falls before you count the raise as extra spending money.
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Some annuity providers now back their guaranteed rates with private credit loans instead of traditional bonds. If you already own an annuity, here's how to find out what's actually holding up your contract.
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Real estate investors keep buying senior living communities and bringing in new operators to run them. A short list of questions protects your contract, your care level, and your monthly fees during the transition.
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Annuity sales just hit a record quarter, and more retirees are getting pitched one than usual. Before you commit a lump sum, here are the questions that separate a fair contract from a bad one.
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Unpredictable changes to Social Security, Medicare, and tax rules are leaving even financial advisors unsure what to tell clients. Build a plan that holds up regardless of which way policy moves.
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Some states tax Social Security and pension income, others exempt it, and the difference can run into thousands of dollars a year. Check where your state actually stands instead of planning around what you assume it does.
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A federal watchdog reviewed 31 retirement plan providers and found most allow sharing or selling your personal data to marketers. Check your plan's privacy notice and ask for an opt-out before more of it moves.
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A court can end your marriage without dividing your 401(k) or pension. Only a separate document, a QDRO, actually moves that money. Missing or rushing it can cost you your share permanently.
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Pensions still pay a meaningful share of income for many current retirees, and an old plan from an employer decades back can go unclaimed when a company changes names or closes. A free federal search can tell you if one is waiting.
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A power of attorney hands someone real authority over your money and property, but it has limits people often misunderstand until a bank or hospital tests them.
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Pulling from a taxable account, a traditional IRA, and a Roth in the wrong order can push you into a higher tax bracket you didn't need to hit. Here's how to plan the sequence.
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An annuity guarantees income for life, but a fixed payment loses buying power every year prices rise. A ladder of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities is a different way to lock in real income for decades. Compare the two before you commit savings.
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Pension income is taxed differently than wages or Social Security. Learn how withholding works, what changes at tax time, and the questions worth asking before you file.
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The IRS just issued standard forms for moving money between retirement plans and IRAs under SECURE 2.0. Here is how a trustee-to-trustee transfer works and the paperwork that keeps your rollover tax-free.
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Combining a pension payout with a 403(b) withdrawal in the same year can push your income into a higher Medicare premium bracket two years later. Know the IRMAA income tiers before you withdraw.
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New industry survey data shows half of pre-retirees have an outdated plan or none at all. Set a yearly date to check your beneficiaries, power of attorney, and will against what actually changed this year.
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A 401(k) can become your highest-taxed asset once required withdrawals begin. Here is how a Roth conversion works, what it costs, and who it helps.
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New Medicaid work requirements are taking effect, and early data shows some people are already losing coverage over paperwork, not eligibility. Here's how to check your state's rules, document an exemption, and prepare an appeal if a notice arrives.
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A loan to an adult child can quietly become a retiree's biggest financial risk. Put a few plain safeguards in writing now, before a good intention costs you your own security.
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A missed RMD, a withholding gap, or a move to a new state can each cost a retiree thousands in avoidable tax and penalties. Catch the three that trip people up most before you file.
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The Office of Personnel Management says it is collecting medical records on more than 8 million federal workers, retirees, and family members. Here's what to check, what to ask for, and how to document your own response.
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More retirees are saving less because they expect an inheritance to fill the gap later. Before you count on it, have the conversation and get the paperwork that actually confirms it.
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Nobody can predict how long their retirement will last, but that uncertainty still needs a plan. Here's how to think about spend-down pace, guardrails, and when it's worth bringing in a professional.
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Filing taxes alone after a spouse dies, or after a life on your own, changes your bracket, your deductions, and what you're eligible for. Here's what actually shifts and what to bring to your next appointment.
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Turning 73 triggers your first required withdrawal from retirement accounts, and missing the deadline brings a steep IRS penalty. Confirm these details before the year closes.
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A new survey found most workers trust their financial advisor but still doubt they're ready to retire. That gap usually means the advisor was never actually vetted. Here's how to check.
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Without an adult child on standby, a retiree needs a named healthcare proxy, power of attorney, and executor lined up ahead of time. Here's how to choose them and what to bring to the meeting.
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The first two days after a spouse dies should be about the few actions that truly cannot wait. Handle the death certificate process, immediate calls, and urgent financial questions first. The rest can wait a little.
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A short legal aid or appeal meeting can still move your case if you arrive with the right documents, dates, and questions. Bring the facts in order, not a bag of loose papers.
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The best time to organize critical documents is before anyone is exhausted, grieving, or trying to answer a hospital question from memory. Keep the important papers findable, current, and simple enough that someone else can use them.
Legal & Planning