PHASE 1 · /build
Phase 1 of 3 · 5–15 years before retirement · Tax Structure · Asset Location · Healthcare
The years before retirement matter more than most people realize. This is where you build flexibility, reduce future taxes, and avoid the mistakes that make retirement harder later.
If you have been maxing your 401(k), contributing to an IRA, and building a real savings rate, you are ahead of almost everyone. The hard part of saving is mostly behind you.
What this page is about is the next layer: making sure the plan you have built matches the retirement you are heading toward. Pre-tax savings are usually the right call during accumulation. The question is whether your overall account mix gives you the flexibility you will need once you stop working, to manage taxes, fund the years before 59½, and keep your healthcare costs under control.
A few adjustments made in the years before retirement can make an enormous difference. The posts below are a good place to start, and when you are ready to think about the transition itself, the Bridge section picks up where this one leaves off.
59 ½
The age that shapes every early retirement plan
3
Account types you need to retire with full flexibility
400%
FPL — the ACA cliff most retirees don’t see coming
ANSWER THIS FIRST
Am I Building This Correctly?
Before diving into mechanics, these posts answer the structural questions: how much you need, what accounts to build, and which decisions have the most impact.
THEN GO DEEPER
Advanced Structure
Once you understand the three-account framework, these posts cover the specific strategies for filling each bucket correctly, including placing assets where they’ll do the most good.
Backdoor and Mega Backdoor Roth (Coming Soon)
THE CASE STUDY
See It in Practice: Ben & Leslie
The Ben and Leslie series follows a couple through planning their early retirement. It’s a helpful illustration of how savings decisions impact choices early retirees will have to make about when and how they can retire.
Ready to Make the Leap?
Phase 2 covers the transition itself: funding the gap before 59½, navigating healthcare, and and managing taxes.