Turning 60? Here’s What to Review in Your Retirement Plan This Tax Year – 2026

Sixty sits in a narrower, more consequential window than most people expect. Retirement is close enough to plan around specifically rather than abstractly, but several major decisions, Social Security, Medicare, required distributions, haven’t arrived yet. That gap is valuable. It’s often the last real stretch of time to make deliberate moves before those decisions start locking in on their own timelines.

Why 60 sits in a different position than 50

At 50, the questions were mostly about saving enough. At 60, the questions shift toward sequencing, in what order should decisions be made, and what’s the cost of getting the order wrong. Claim Social Security too early and a benefit gets permanently reduced. Convert too much to a Roth in one year and a tax bracket gets pushed higher than necessary. Wait too long on either and other opportunities close. Sixty is the age where sequencing starts to matter as much as saving.

The “super” catch-up contribution window

Beyond the standard catch-up contributions available since age 50, recent tax law created an additional, larger catch-up contribution allowance specifically for eligible participants ages 60 through 63, a short four-year window before it reverts to the standard catch-up amount at 64*. For someone still working with room in their budget to save aggressively, this window provides an opportunity to make higher retirement plan contributions during those four years.

Social Security: still a choice, not yet a deadline

Sixty is below Social Security’s earliest claiming age, but it’s exactly the right time to start modeling different claiming strategies rather than waiting until a decision is imminent. The difference between claiming early, at full retirement age, or delaying further can amount to a substantially different monthly benefit for the rest of a person’s life, and the right choice depends on health, other income sources, and whether a spouse’s claiming strategy needs to be coordinated with one’s own.

The Roth conversion window before RMDs

For someone who’s stopped working, or is earning less than in peak career years, the years before required minimum distributions begin can be a genuine opportunity to consider converting traditional retirement funds to a Roth account when their current tax rate may be lower than the rate they might otherwise face later. This window doesn’t last indefinitely, and the right amount to convert in any given year depends on current tax brackets, so it benefits from actual modeling rather than a general rule of thumb.

Building a bridge to Medicare

Medicare eligibility doesn’t generally begin until 65, which means anyone retiring before then needs a plan for healthcare coverage in the gap, whether that’s COBRA, a marketplace plan, or continued employer coverage. This is a real, often underestimated cost that belongs in a retirement income plan well before it becomes an immediate need.

When to bring in outside help

Sequencing Social Security, Roth conversions, and healthcare coverage against each other, while also watching how each choice affects the others, is exactly the kind of coordinated decision that benefits from a second set of eyes. As an independent fiduciary, Apriem works with clients through this specific stretch, coordinating the investment, tax considerations, and Social Security timing decisions together rather than reviewing them in isolation.

Have a question about your retirement plan?

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