Certain ages are critical when managing our retirement plans. Failure to plan with those ages in mind can produce lost benefits. In this article I outline those dates and explain how they affect your retirement benefits.
You’ve saved for years to accumulate benefits to use throughout your retirement years. Most likely you’ve used government-regulated plans – called qualified retirement plans, company plans, IRAs, etc. – to do so.
But these tax-advantaged retirement savings plans have rules you must follow – both for companies and individuals. These rules prescribe key ages to frustrate early use of those savings and then to force their use later in retirement. You also paid into the Social Security and Medicare programs; they also have their key ages.
Being aware of these ages and what they imply is critical to your retirement planning. Let’s explore them from the earliest to the latest:
Let me first mention that most tax-advantaged savings plans involve tax deductible contributions you make from your working income. These savings then grow tax deferred. When this money is eventually withdrawn, it’ll be taxed as ordinary income. Such plans also include company pension plans – all of which are produce taxable income at retirement.
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