Eleven tools covering both halves of retirement: building the pot and spending it down.
Retirement planning has two distinct phases with almost nothing in common. Accumulation is about contribution rates, employer matching, and account type. Decumulation is about withdrawal rates, sequence-of-returns risk, and IRS rules that carry real penalties if you get them wrong.
The distribution tools use current IRS tables — the Uniform Lifetime Table for RMDs, the SECURE Act 10-year rule for inherited IRAs, and the approved 72(t) methods for penalty-free early withdrawals. These rules changed materially in recent years, so older guidance you find elsewhere may be out of date.
Employer matching is the highest guaranteed return available anywhere — a 50% match is an instant 50% gain before any market movement. Capture it before optimising anything else.
The 4% rule is a starting point, not a law. Sequence-of-returns risk means the order returns arrive matters as much as the average — a bad first five years does far more damage than the same years later.
RMDs begin at 73 for most people and carry a penalty for underpayment. Inherited IRAs follow separate SECURE Act rules that depend on when the original owner died and your relationship to them.
The years between retiring and claiming Social Security are often a low-income window where Roth conversions cost less tax than they will later. 72(t) SEPP allows penalty-free withdrawals before 59½ but locks you into a fixed schedule.
Short answers to what people ask most before picking a tool.
