Free retirement courses

Short courses on the money decisions that arrive with retirement, taught lesson by lesson with worked examples and quizzes that mark themselves. No sign-up and nothing to pay.

  1. 01

    Beginner · about 53 min

    The Taxman Can Wait Outside: Growing Money in Roth and HSA Accounts

    Anyone saving for retirement who wants money that grows and comes back out without tax, whether they are new to Roth accounts or already hold one.

    1. 1How Roth Accounts Grow Tax-Free: Roth IRA and Roth 401(k)
    2. 2Getting Roth Money Out Before 59½: Ordering Rules and Penalties
    3. 3The Health Savings Account: A Triple Tax Break for Retirement
    4. 4Roth Conversions and the Backdoor Roth: Tax Now, Tax-Free Later
  2. 02

    Beginner · about 53 min

    Don't Let the Nest Egg Crack: A Retirement Withdrawal Plan

    People within about ten years of retiring, or already retired, who want a written plan for drawing income from their savings.

    1. 1Find Your Retirement Income Gap: Spending Minus Guaranteed Income
    2. 2Withdrawal Rates and Guardrails: How Much to Take Each Year
    3. 3Sequence-of-Returns Risk: Why the First Years Matter Most
    4. 4Buckets and Guaranteed Income: A Floor Under Your Spending
  3. 03

    Beginner · about 56 min

    The Social Security Waiting Game: When to Claim Your Benefit

    Anyone within about fifteen years of claiming Social Security, and married couples who want to decide their claiming ages together.

    1. 1How Your Social Security Benefit Is Calculated: AIME and PIA
    2. 2Claiming Social Security at 62, 67 or 70: The Break-Even Math
    3. 3Spousal and Survivor Benefits: Claiming as a Couple
    4. 4Working While Claiming Social Security: The Earnings Test and Taxes
  4. 04

    Intermediate · about 54 min

    Tax Landmines After the Last Paycheck: Retirement Tax Planning

    Retirees and near-retirees with savings in a traditional IRA or 401(k) who want to see how withdrawals, benefits and Medicare premiums interact.

    1. 1The Social Security Tax Torpedo: When Your Marginal Rate Jumps
    2. 2Required Minimum Distributions: Ages, Tables and the 25% Penalty
    3. 3Medicare IRMAA Surcharges: The Income Cliff Two Years Back
    4. 4Filling Low Tax Brackets Before RMDs: Roth Conversions in Gap Years
  5. 05

    Beginner · about 53 min

    The Care Bill Nobody Budgets For: Planning for Long-Term Care

    People in their 50s and 60s planning for possible care costs, and adult children helping a parent understand the options.

    1. 1What Long-Term Care Is and Who Pays: Medicare, Medicaid, You
    2. 2How Long-Term Care Insurance Works: Benefits, Waiting Periods, Riders
    3. 3Hybrid Long-Term Care Policies and Self-Funding: Weighing the Options
    4. 4Medicaid and the Five-Year Look-Back: Planning Ahead for Care

How the courses work

Each course opens with an overview of who it suits and what to have in front of you, usually a Social Security statement, an account statement or last year's tax return. The lessons follow in order, each building on the one before and ending with multiple-choice questions. Pick an answer and it is marked on the spot, with the right one explained. Nothing is recorded.

Retirement rules change. Contribution limits, tax brackets and Medicare surcharge thresholds move most years, which is why the arithmetic runs on round hypothetical figures and the current number is always one you look up with the IRS, the Social Security Administration or Medicare. If you are still saving, start with The Taxman Can Wait Outside. If claiming is a few years away, start with The Social Security Waiting Game.