Some things to consider.

During your accumulation years, you may have categorized your risk as “conservative,” “moderate,” or “aggressive,” and that guided how your portfolio was built. Maybe you concerned yourself with finding the “best-performing funds,” even though you knew past performance does not guarantee future results.

What occurs with many retirees is a change in mindset – it’s less about finding the “best-performing fund” and more about consistent performance. It may be less about a risk continuum – that stretches from conservative to aggressive – and more about balancing the objectives of maximizing your income and sustaining it for a lifetime.

How healthy a retirement do you think you will have? If you can stay activeas a seniorand curb or avoid certain habits, you could potentially reduceonetype of retirement expense.

Each year, Fidelity Investments presents an analysisof retiree health care costs. In 2019, Fidelity projected that the average 65-year-old couple would spend around $285,000 on health care during retirement, including about $11,000 in the first year. Both projections took Medicare benefits into account.^1,2

A longer repayment time can be an advantage.

The conventional wisdom about taking a loan from your 401(k) plan is often boiled down to: not unless absolutely necessary. That said, it isn’t always avoidable for everyone or in every situation. In a true emergency, if you had no alternative, the rules do allow for a loan, but they also require a fast repayment if your employment were to end. Recent changes have changed that deadline, offering some flexibility to those taking the loan. (Distributions from 401(k) plans and most other employer-sponsored retirement plans are taxed as ordinary income, and if taken before age 59½, may be subject to a 10% federal income tax penalty. Generally, once you reach age 70½, you must begin taking required minimum distributions.)

Things you can do for your future as the year unfolds.

What financial, business, or life priorities do you need to address for the coming year? Now is a good time to think about the investing, saving, or budgeting methods you could employ toward specific objectives, from building your retirement fund to managing your taxes. You have plenty of choices. Here are a few ideas to consider:

Do you find it difficult to plan as a small business owner?

If you are like most small business owners, you find it difficult to plan because your future has more unknowns than your non-business-owning counterparts. You might not know how much your business is worth, when you should sell, where to find the right buyer, how to fetch the best price, or even how much insurance to carry. If you have a family business or operate with a partner, you also have additional layers of both complexity and ambiguity.

What you need to know.

When you reach age 70½, the Internal Revenue Service instructs you to start making withdrawals from your traditional IRA(s).These withdrawals are also called Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). You will make them, annually, from now on.¹

If you fail to take your annual RMD or take out less than the required amount, the I.R.S. will notice. You will not only owe income taxes on the amount not withdrawn, you will owe 50% more. (The 50% penalty can be waived if you can show the I.R.S. that the shortfall resulted from a “reasonable error” instead of negligence.)¹

Many IRA owners have questions about the rules related to their initial RMDs, so let’s answer a few.

Not all gifts are taxable.

I’d like for you to meet my friend, Hugh. He’s a retired film stuntman who, after a long career, is enjoying his retirement. Some of what he’s enjoying about his retirement is sharing part of his accumulated wealth with his family, specifically his wife and two sons. Like many Americans, Hugh likes to make sure that, when he’s sharing that wealth, he isn’t giving the I.R.S. any overtime.

The important question: Are you prepared?

Addressing the potential threat of long-term care expenses may be one of the biggest financial challenges for individuals who are developing a retirement strategy.

The right moves for every age.

Have you ever mapped out your financial timeline? If you’re like many Americans, it may have been more difficult than anticipated. One of the most helpful ways to achieve your financial goals is to break it down by your age. After all, depending where you are on life’s journey, certain financial moves make more sense than others. Read on to learn more.

A radical new approach to working, saving, and retiring.

Retire before 50 and live your best life. That is the message of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement, which is drawing interest worldwide.