Vocations · Professional Development

The ages that decide
your retirement.

Enter a birth year and the age you plan to retire. The checklist works out your full retirement age for Social Security, the year Medicare starts and when required distributions begin, totals your accounts and walks through nine steps, flagging the gaps people most often find too late.

Add a planWhat you get

Plans

The worked example is made up: a teacher born in 1968 planning to retire at 63, two years before Medicare, and a relative born in 1961 turning 65 this year. Records save on this device only.

Loading the plan form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Vocations · Professional DevelopmentFree

What you finish with
A record per person with initials, birth year, planned retirement age and review date; accounts with balances and match status; nine readiness steps; full retirement age, Medicare year and required distribution age; flags for retiring before full retirement age, years before Medicare, a Medicare window this year, a match not fully used and catch-up contributions.
Who it is for
Adults in mid and late career, school staff planning retirement, and the adult children helping a parent think it through.
Format
Browser checklist with a saved record per person. Prints a one-page summary, every plan or a blank checklist; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Professional Development space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add the person with birth year and planned retirement age.
  2. Add each account from the latest statement, and whether the full match is coming in.
  3. Read your Social Security statement at ssa.gov and check the earnings record.
  4. Work through the nine steps; each flag is something to look into, not a verdict.
  5. Review again each year, and whenever a job or family change happens.

Add a plan

Full retirement age

Full retirement age by birth year1943 to 195466195566 and 2 months195666 and 4 months195766 and 6 months195866 and 8 months195966 and 10 months1960 or later67age 6267Claim at 62 and the monthly benefit is about 30 percent less for life;wait past full retirement age, up to 70, and it grows for each year youwait.Full retirement age by birth year1943 to 195466195566 and 2 months195666 and 4 months195766 and 6 months195866 and 8 months195966 and 10 months1960 or later67age 6267Claim at 62 and the monthly benefit isabout 30 percent less for life; wait pastfull retirement age, up to 70, and itgrows for each year you wait.
Your own Social Security statement shows your estimates at 62, at full retirement age and at 70.

Social Security and Medicare are separate

Full retirement age for Social Security is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later, but Medicare starts at 65 for nearly everyone. If you retire before 65 you need other health coverage until then. The Medicare initial enrollment period is seven months: the three months before the month you turn 65, that month and the three after. Missing it can mean a late penalty for life.

Required distributions

Most traditional retirement accounts require withdrawals starting at a set age: 73 for people born from 1951 through 1959, and 75 for people born in 1960 or later, under current law. Roth IRAs have no required withdrawals for the original owner. Check the IRS rules for your year of birth.

Sources

  1. Social Security Administration. Retirement age calculator and my Social Security statement (ssa.gov).
  2. Medicare.gov. When does Medicare coverage start? The initial enrollment period around age 65 (medicare.gov).
  3. Internal Revenue Service. Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQs, including the SECURE 2.0 ages (irs.gov).
  4. Internal Revenue Service. Catch-up contributions for people 50 and over (irs.gov).

The worked example is made up. Ages and rules are the federal ones at the time of writing and can change; pensions and state retirement systems have their own rules. This is not financial or tax advice. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.