The parts with a deadline

Most retirement checklists are lists of things to do. This one is a list of things that happen whether you plan for them or not — ages fixed by law, decisions that cannot be reversed, and figures the tax year moves underneath you.

Penalty-free access at 59½, Medicare at 65, required distributions from 73, the eight-year Social Security claiming window, a separate five-year clock on every Roth conversion, and the 72(t) schedule that locks you in once started. Every situation is different and not all of these will apply to yours, so treat it as a set of questions worth asking rather than steps to follow.

Retirely — free retirement planning tools. Nothing is stored and no figure you enter leaves your browser. Educational only, not financial advice.