Resources to help you make better financial decisions.

A contract with an insurance company. Depending on the type, it can grow your money tax-deferred or turn savings into a stream of income for a set number of years or for life. Any guarantees depend on the insurance company's ability to pay its claims.

Deciding which accounts hold which investments. Taxable, tax-deferred, and Roth accounts are taxed differently, so where an investment sits can change how much of its return you keep.

What you originally paid for an investment. It determines how much of a sale is taxable gain and how much is simply your own money coming back.

A legal obligation to act in your best interest, not merely to recommend something suitable. It is a standard of care, not a marketing term.

The age when you can collect your full Social Security retirement benefit. It's 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Claiming earlier lowers your monthly benefit, and waiting longer, up to age 70, raises it.

Short for income-related monthly adjustment amount. It's an extra charge on Medicare Part B and Part D premiums for people with higher incomes, based on your tax return from two years earlier. That's why income decisions at 63 can affect what you pay for Medicare at 65.

A gift sent directly from your IRA to a charity, available starting at age 70½. The amount isn't counted as taxable income, and once you're required to take RMDs, it can count toward them.

The amount the IRS requires you to withdraw from certain retirement accounts each year once you reach the applicable age. Missing one carries a penalty.

Moving money from a pre-tax retirement account into a Roth account and paying the tax now, so that qualified withdrawals later, including the growth, can come out tax-free.

The risk that poor market returns arrive early in retirement, while you are drawing income. The same average return can produce very different outcomes depending on when the bad years land.