Read this as a timeline — one row per age, with every milestone, its key detail, and the action it calls for grouped together. The chapter links point to the full explanation of each rule.
| Age | Key details & action items | Ch. |
|---|---|---|
| Any age | Rule of 72(t) / SEPPPenalty-free IRA withdrawals via Substantially Equal Periodic Payments — but rigid.Commit only if you can continue for the longer of 5 years or until 59½. |
24 |
| 50 | Catch-up contributions beginAn extra $8,000 to a 401(k)/403(b)/457(b)/TSP and an extra $1,100 to an IRA (2026 figures).Raise your contribution elections to capture the higher limit. |
1, 2 |
| 55 |
HSA catch-up beginsAn extra $1,000/year into your Health Savings Account.Add the catch-up before you enroll in Medicare, which closes HSA contributions.
Rule of 55Penalty-free withdrawals from your current employer's 401(k)/403(b) if you leave that job in or after the year you turn 55 (age 50 for qualified public-safety workers). Doesn't apply to IRAs. But pre-tax IRAs and old 401(k)s rolled into the plan before you separate become eligible too, if the plan accepts incoming rollovers.Leave 401(k) money in the plan — don't roll to an IRA — if you may need it before 59½; consider rolling other pre-tax retirement money in beforehand to enlarge the bridge.
|
4, 25 |
| 59½ | Universal penalty-free accessThe 10% early-withdrawal penalty ends on all IRA and 401(k) withdrawals. (Ordinary income tax still applies to pre-tax dollars.)Sequence withdrawals for tax, not penalty avoidance, from here on. |
24, 25 |
| 60 | Social Security wage-indexing yearThe AWI for the year you turn 60 becomes the fixed benchmark used to index every earlier year's earnings into today's dollars; wages earned at 60 and later aren't indexed at all. This locks the inflation-adjustment side of your benefit — it never changes afterward.Understand your indexed earnings are now set; later work only replaces low years dollar-for-dollar. |
5 |
| 60–63 | “Super catch-up”A larger 401(k) catch-up of $11,250 instead of $8,000, if your plan allows (SECURE 2.0).Confirm your plan offers it, then bump your deferral for these four years. |
1 |
| 62 |
Social Security — earliestThe first age you can claim, at a permanently reduced benefit.Claim now only if you need the income or expect a short longevity; otherwise delay.
Social Security bend points lockThe two dollar bend points in the PIA formula are fixed at the year you turn 62 (themselves computed from the age-60 AWI). Together with your 35-year average, this finalizes how your AIME converts to a PIA — after 62, only the annual COLA moves your benefit.Treat your PIA as locked; from here the only lever left is when you claim.
Reverse mortgage (HECM)The minimum age to take out a federally insured HECM reverse mortgage and draw on your home equity.Consider it as a late-life liquidity backstop, not a first-resort income source.
|
14, 5, 17 |
| 65 |
Medicare eligibilityEnroll during the 7-month window around your 65th birthday to avoid lifelong late-enrollment penalties.Sign up on time — even a short delay locks in a permanent Part B/D premium penalty.
Medigap open enrollmentYour one-time 6-month Medigap open-enrollment window starts the month your Part B begins: you're guaranteed coverage regardless of health. Miss it and insurers in most states can medically underwrite — or decline — you later.If you want a Medigap (supplement) policy, buy it inside this window — the guarantee never returns.
HSA penalty endsNon-medical HSA withdrawals become penalty-free (taxed as ordinary income, like an IRA); medical withdrawals stay tax-free.Keep using HSA dollars for medical costs first — that use stays fully tax-free.
|
10, 12, 4 |
| 67 | Full Retirement Age (FRA)Your full, unreduced Social Security benefit — for anyone born 1960 or later.Weigh claiming at FRA against delaying to 70 for ~8%/yr more. |
5, 14 |
| 70 | Social Security — latestDelayed retirement credits stop accruing (~8%/yr from FRA); there's no reason to wait past 70 to claim.Claim by 70 — waiting longer adds nothing. |
14 |
| 70½ | QCDs beginYou can make Qualified Charitable Distributions from an IRA — tax-free, and they count toward your RMD.Route charitable giving through QCDs to shrink taxable RMD income. |
21 |
| 73 | RMDs beginRequired Minimum Distributions start (born 1951–1959). The first can be deferred to April 1 of the next year — but that forces two RMDs in one year.Take the first RMD in-year to avoid doubling up and spiking your bracket. |
21 |
| 75 | RMDs begin (later cohort)The start age rises to 75 for anyone born 1960 or later, effective 2033.If born 1960+, plan Roth conversions in the extra pre-RMD years. |
21 |
What locks your Social Security benefit — and when
Your PIA is built from three inputs, each of which freezes at a fixed point and never changes afterward:
Highest 35 years of earnings — fewer than 35 working years means $0 fills the gaps and drags the average down
each indexed to the AWI of the year you turn 60 — that one year's wage index restates all earlier earnings in today's dollars
then run through the bend points fixed at age 62 — the dollar thresholds are set once and don't move
After age 62, only the annual COLA adjusts your benefit. The 35-year average and the age-60 AWI feed your AIME; the age-62 bend points convert that AIME into your PIA. Full walkthrough in Chapter 5.
The Roth 5-year clocks (duration, not age)
Two Roth rules are measured in years held, not by your age — and they're easy to trip over:
| Rule | What it means | Ch. |
|---|---|---|
| Roth IRA earnings clock | To withdraw earnings tax-free you must be 59½ and have held any Roth IRA for 5 years — the clock starts with your first-ever Roth IRA contribution. (Your contributions can always come out tax- and penalty-free.) | 3, 26 |
| Roth conversion clock | Each conversion has its own 5-year clock before the converted amount can be withdrawn penalty-free if you're under 59½ — convert early and often to keep the clocks running. | 13, 26 |
Ages and rules reflect the 2026 plan year. Dollar figures change annually (Appendix B); reconfirm current-year numbers before acting. Nothing here is personalized advice.