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