The old rule of subtracting your age from 110 to find your stock allocation was built for a generation that retired at 65 and died at 72. Today’s 60-year-old needs a portfolio to last 25-30 years — and being 50% in bonds at 60 is a quiet way to underfund that runway. Here are the allocation targets that actually make sense at 55, 60, and 65, plus the income-source variable that changes everything.

If your retirement savings are locked in a traditional IRA or 401k and you want to retire before 59½, a Roth conversion ladder may be your best tool for accessing that money without the 10% early withdrawal penalty. Here’s how it works, what it costs in taxes, and why you need to start it five years before you need it.

The SECURE Act replaced the old stretch IRA with a 10-year depletion rule — and most adult children who inherit a parent’s IRA have no idea it exists until they’re already in trouble. Here’s what the 10-year rule actually means, why the difference between taking all $180,000 in year one vs. spreading it out can cost you $20,000–$35,000 in unnecessary taxes, and the four things to do in the next 30 days if you’ve recently inherited an IRA.

Most people set up their 401k, pick some funds, and forget about it for years. The problem: stocks outperform bonds during bull markets, so your 60/40 portfolio quietly drifts to 75/25 or 80/20 without any decision on your part. Then a correction hits and you’re carrying far more risk than you intended. Here’s how often to rebalance, what the research says, and how to do it in 15 minutes inside your 401k.