Life Milestone Investing Guide

Your investment accounts need attention at each major life milestone: when you start earning, change jobs, marry, have children, buy a home, or approach retirement. These 20 guides cover the specific account actions, contribution adjustments, and tax considerations that matter at each turning point, from first earned income through annual estate review.

Early Earning and Career

• First Earned Income: starting a Roth IRA and taxable account
• Taking Control at 18: custodial-to-individual account transfers
• Getting Your First 401(k): contribution elections and fund selection
• Changing Jobs: rollover options and vesting cliff decisions

Family and Major Purchases

• Getting Married: combining accounts, updating beneficiaries, joint strategy
• Having a Child: 529 setup, beneficiary updates, life insurance review
• Buying Your First Home: down payment sourcing and portfolio rebalancing
• Going Through Divorce: QDRO, account splitting, and beneficiary reset

Pre-Retirement Milestones

• Turning 50: catch-up contribution limits for 401(k) and IRA
• Ages 60 to 63: enhanced catch-up contributions under SECURE 2.0
• Turning 59.5: penalty-free withdrawals and Roth conversion timing

Social Security and Medicare

• Turning 62: early Social Security filing trade-offs
• Turning 65: Medicare enrollment windows and HSA contribution cutoff
• Reaching Full Retirement Age: Social Security breakeven analysis
• Turning 70: maximum Social Security benefit and delayed credit end

Retirement and Distributions

• Starting RMDs at 73 or 75: calculation method and account order
• Retirement Day: income sequencing and withdrawal strategy setup

Late-Life and Estate Events

• Losing a Spouse: account retitling, inherited IRA rules, and tax filing changes
• Major Health or Care Event: power of attorney, liquidation planning, and Medicaid lookback
• Annual Estate Review: beneficiary audit, asset titling check, and document update

Full Investing by Age overview

References

The rules and figures stated on this page come from these primary sources. Tax and benefit rules change, so confirm current amounts with the source before acting.

• IRS: Retirement topics, Required minimum distributions (RMDs)
• IRS: Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
• Congress.gov: H.R. 2617, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Division T: SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022)
• SSA: Benefits Planner, Retirement (full retirement age and reduction for early claiming)