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Which money deadlines are coming up for me — and when?
Enter your birth month and year to see every age-based money deadline from 50 to 75, with dates, countdowns, a calendar download and optional email reminders.
Yearfold is a financial-education tool. It is not a registered investment adviser and does not provide personalized investment, tax, or legal advice. Results are probabilistic projections based on historical data and stated assumptions; they are not guarantees. Methodology
By Mindaugas Laucius · Last reviewed October 22, 2026
Next up
Medicare sign-up window
· in 3 months
Age 64 and 9 months to 65 and 3 months
Your 7-month Initial Enrollment Period runs from 3 months before the month you turn 65 to 3 months after. Unless you have coverage from your own or your spouse's current job, this window is when to sign up for Part B without a penalty. Medigap open enrollment lasts 6 months from when your Part B starts.
What’s at stake: Signing up late adds 10% to Part B for each full 12 months you could have had it — about $243.48 a year at 2026 premiums, for as long as you have Part B. After Medigap open enrollment, insurers can charge more or refuse coverage.
Email me before each one
A reminder about 90 days and about 2 weeks before each milestone, plus a short “year ahead” email each January. We store your email and birth month and year only.
Coming up
Full retirement age
· in 2 years, 6 months
Age 67
Your full Social Security benefit is available from this month, and the earnings test no longer reduces it. Waiting longer still earns delayed credits until 70.
What’s at stake: 100% of your benefit; each month you wait after this adds 2/3 of 1% (8% a year) until 70.
Source: SSA — normal retirement age by year of birthOpen the Social Security break-even tool
Social Security stops growing
· in 5 years, 6 months
Age 70
Delayed retirement credits stop at 70. If you haven't claimed yet, there's no benefit to waiting any longer.
What’s at stake: Claiming at 70 pays about 24% more than at full retirement age (born 1962); waiting past 70 adds nothing.
Source: SSA — delayed retirement creditsOpen the Social Security break-even tool
Charitable IRA gifts (QCDs) open
· in 6 years
Age 70 and 6 months
From 70½ you can send money from an IRA straight to a qualified charity. It isn't counted as income, and once RMDs start it counts toward them.
What’s at stake: Up to $111,000 a year (2026) kept out of taxable income.
Source: IRS — IRA distribution FAQs (qualified charitable distributions)Open the RMD calculator tool
First required minimum distribution
· in 10 years, 3 months
Age the year you turn 75
RMDs start the year you turn 75 (born 1962). The first may wait until April 1 of the next year, but then two are due in that year; later ones are due by December 31.
What’s at stake: Missing an RMD costs 25% of the shortfall (10% if corrected in time).
Source: IRS — required minimum distribution FAQsOpen the RMD calculator tool
Already behind you (6)
Catch-up contributions open
Age the year you turn 50
From January of the year you turn 50 you can put extra into workplace plans and IRAs, on top of the regular limits.
What’s at stake: Up to $8,000 a year more in a 401(k), 403(b) or 457 and $1,100 more in an IRA (2026). If last year's wages from that employer topped $150,000, plan catch-ups must go in as Roth.
Source: IRS Notice 2025-67 — 2026 limits (catch-ups, Roth catch-up threshold)
Rule of 55 starts to apply
Age the year you turn 55
If you leave your employer in or after this calendar year, withdrawals from that employer's 401(k) or 403(b) escape the 10% early-withdrawal tax. IRAs don't qualify, so moving that plan's money into an IRA first gives up the exception.
What’s at stake: Avoids the 10% additional tax on those withdrawals: $1,000 on every $10,000 taken before 59½.
Source: IRS — exceptions to the tax on early distributionsOpen the Rule of 55 + 72(t) tool
Early-withdrawal penalty ends (59½)
Age 59 and 6 months
From the day you reach 59½ you can take money from IRAs and workplace plans without the 10% additional tax. Income tax still applies to pre-tax money.
What’s at stake: The 10% additional tax ends: $1,000 on every $10,000 withdrawn.
Source: IRS — exceptions to the tax on early distributionsOpen the Rule of 55 + 72(t) tool
Higher catch-up for ages 60–63
Age the years you turn 60 to 63
In the calendar years you turn 60, 61, 62 and 63, workplace plans allow a larger catch-up. It drops back to the regular amount the year you turn 64.
What’s at stake: Up to $11,250 a year in catch-ups instead of $8,000 (2026), if your plan offers it.
Source: IRS Notice 2025-67 — 2026 limits (catch-ups, Roth catch-up threshold)
Earliest Social Security benefit
Age 62 and 1 month
Benefits can start with the first month you're 62 for the whole month (the month you turn 62 if born on the 1st or 2nd). Claiming this early locks in a smaller check for life.
What’s at stake: Claiming at 62 cuts your benefit by about 30% for life (born 1962). Before full retirement age, $1 is withheld for every $2 you earn above $24,480 (2026).
Source: SSA — benefit reduction for early retirementOpen the Social Security break-even tool
Income now sets Medicare premiums at 65
Age the year you turn 63
Medicare surcharges use your tax return from two years earlier, so income in the year you turn 63 sets your premiums at 65. Large Roth conversions or capital gains this year count.
What’s at stake: Above $109,000 single or $218,000 joint (2026 tiers), Part B and D cost at least $1,148.40 a year more per person.
Source: SSA POMS HI 01101.020 — IRMAA uses income from two years earlierOpen the IRMAA calculator tool
Get a reminder before each of these
A reminder about 90 days and about 2 weeks before each milestone, plus a short “year ahead” email each January. We store your email and birth month and year only.
How this works
Retirement rules are full of birthdays. Some open a door (bigger catch-up contributions at 50, penalty-free withdrawals at 59½), some start a clock (the Medicare sign-up window, required minimum distributions), and a few quietly cost money if you miss them. This tool turns your birth month and year into a dated list of all of them.
Each milestone is placed in the calendar month it applies. Rules written for "the year you turn" an age, such as catch-up contributions or the Rule of 55, start in January of that year. Rules tied to an exact age, such as 59½ or full retirement age, start in the month you reach it. We only ask for month and year, so dates are accurate to the month.
Social Security counts you as a year older on the day before your birthday. If you were born on the 1st of a month, your Medicare and full-retirement-age months are one month earlier than shown, and if you were born on the 1st or 2nd you can start benefits in the month you turn 62 rather than the month after.
Every figure comes from the same 2026 rules our other tools use, and each item links to its primary source. Add a spouse to see both timelines together, or tick the HSA boxes to include the health-savings-account rules.
Worked example: Born in April 1962, checking in October 2026
- Medicare sign-up window: it opens 3 months before the April 2027 birthday month and closes 3 months after, so January 1 to July 31, 2027.
- Full retirement age: born 1960 or later means 67, which is April 2029. Benefits claimed in May 2024, the first full month at 62, would have been about 30% smaller for life.
- Social Security at 70: April 2032. Charitable IRA gifts open at 70½: October 2032.
- First required distribution: born 1960 or later means age 75, so the year 2037, with the first one due by April 1, 2038.
Next up for this person is the Medicare window opening in January 2027, about 3 months away. Missing it can add $243.48 a year to Part B for every full year late, at 2026 premiums.
The full method behind every Yearfold number is on the methodology page.
Sources
- IRS Notice 2025-67 — 2026 contribution and catch-up limits
- SSA — normal retirement age by year of birth
- SSA POMS RS 00615.015 — how the day of birth affects benefits
- Medicare.gov — when you can sign up for Medicare
- CMS — 2026 Medicare Part B premiums and deductibles
- IRS — required minimum distribution FAQs
Rules verified against these sources on October 22, 2026.
Questions
Why do you only ask for my birth month and year?
Month and year are enough to place every rule in the right month, and they're less personal than a full date of birth. The one exception is people born on the 1st (or 2nd) of a month, explained under How this works.
Do these dates change if I keep working?
The dates themselves don't. What changes is what you do: working past 65 with employer coverage can let you delay Part B without a penalty, and a health savings account needs care once you apply for Medicare. Tick "I plan to work past 65" to see that rule.
How do the email reminders work?
After you confirm your email, we send a note about 90 days and about 2 weeks before each milestone, plus a short summary each January. Two milestones in the same week arrive in one email. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe.
Will the figures update for 2027?
Yes. Catch-up limits, the Part B premium and the earnings-test limits are adjusted each year. We review them every January and show the review date on this page.
Is this personal advice?
No. It lists dates the law sets and what each one can cost. Whether to claim, convert or contribute depends on your full situation; the full calculator and the other free tools help you test the options.
See this in your full plan
The free 10,000-path calculator puts this answer next to everything else: savings, spending, Social Security, taxes, Medicare and a spouse, with the odds your money lasts. Your inputs from this tool carry over.
See this in your full planRelated free tools
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- IRMAA calculatorWill I pay a Medicare surcharge, and can I appeal it?
- RMD calculatorHow much must I withdraw for my RMD, and by when?