Outline of retirement planning

The following outline is provided as a topical overview of retirement planning:

Retirement planning involves saving for retirement, primarily by means of employer provided plans and personal retirement savings plans. Retirement planning also includes the retirement phase of the life cycle when the retiree is withdrawing an income from savings, taking Social Security, and securing health insurance.

Retirement saving

 * Life-cycle finance

Employer provided plans
A pension plan is an employee benefit plan established or maintained by an employer or by an employee organization (such as a union), or both, that provides retirement income or defers income until termination of covered employment or beyond. There are a number of types of retirement plans, including the 401(k) plan and the traditional pension plan, known as a defined benefit plan.

Employer plan basics

 * Employer retirement plans overview
 * Employee Retirement Income Security Act - ERISA
 * Qualified retirement plan
 * Non-qualified retirement plan
 * Defined benefit pension plan

Contributory plans

 * 401(k)
 * After-tax 401(k)
 * Solo 401(k) plan
 * Setting up a 401(k) plan
 * How to campaign for a better 401(k) plan


 * 403(b)
 * 457(b)
 * Keogh plan
 * Salary Reduction Simplified Employee Pension Plan
 * SEP
 * SIMPLE IRA

Thrift Savings Plan

 * Thrift Savings Plan
 * TSP and 401(k) contrasts
 * G Fund
 * I Fund
 * TSP Lifecycle funds
 * TSP transfers and rollovers
 * TSP withdrawals
 * TSP estate planning

Plan features

 * Deferred compensation
 * Employer matching contributions
 * Collective Investment Trusts
 * Self directed brokerage account
 * Stable value fund

Plan transfers

 * Fiduciary transfers
 * Lump sum vs pension

Performance

 * US pension fund performance
 * Global (excluding US) pension fund performance

Personal savings plans
Personal retirement plans include Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRA)s, annuities, and some forms of charitable split-interest gifts.

IRA accounts
An individual retirement arrangement, or IRA, is a personal savings plan which allows you to set aside money for retirement, while offering you tax advantages. You may be able to deduct some or all of your contributions to your IRA. Amounts in your IRA, including earnings, generally are not taxed until distributed to you. IRA's cannot be owned jointly. However, any amounts remaining in your IRA upon your death can be paid to your beneficiary or beneficiaries.
 * Traditional IRA
 * Roth IRA
 * Non-deductible traditional IRA
 * Backdoor Roth IRA
 * Traditional versus Roth

IRA withdrawals

 * IRA distribution tables
 * Substantially equal periodic payments
 * Net unrealized appreciation

Roth conversions

 * Roth IRA conversion
 * IRA recharacterization

IRA transfers

 * IRA rollovers and transfers
 * Rollover IRA

Inheriting an IRA

 * Stretch IRA
 * Inheriting an IRA
 * Inheriting a Roth IRA

Deferred annuities
Deferred annuities are used to accumulate assets. Funds will grow at a rate that can be either fixed or variable.

An Equity-indexed annuity, also referred to as a fixed indexed annuity, is a type of fixed annuity where earnings accumulate at a rate based on a formula linked in part to a published equity-based index, such as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Stock Price IndexTM (S&P 500). An indexed annuity provides a guarantee of a minimum accumulation value, and may also offer death benefit protection and a variety of payout options. The index used, the formula that determines the indexed rate and the guaranteed minimum value, can vary from insurer to insurer.
 * Fixed annuity: The money you put in a fixed annuity earns interest at a rate that is guaranteed for a specific period of time—ranging from one to five years or more, depending on the terms of the contract. When that period ends, a new rate may take effect—or the old rate may be offered again.
 * Variable annuity: With a variable annuity, your money is put in subaccount investments that are similar to stock and bond funds. The return on your investments is subject to the risk of market fluctuation. Your total account value depends on how much risk you take, the performance of the subaccounts, and what charges and fees are deducted.
 * Equity-indexed annuity
 * Fixed annuity
 * Variable annuity

Immediate annuities
Immediate (Income) annuities are used to convert a lump sum into an income stream (regular payments), typically for the life of the annuitant. If the income stream is fixed, it is considered a fixed immediate annuity; also known as a Single Premium Immediate Annuity (SPIA). Some fixed immediate annuities are offered with inflation-adjusted payments or graded payments that rise at a fixed rate, of for example, 3% annually. However, these options reduce the initial payment received but with the anticipation that payments will grow steadily over time. If the income stream is variable, it is considered a variable immediate annuity. Like deferred variable annuities, your money is put into subaccounts. These subaccounts can be invested in stock or bond funds. Payments will fluctuate based on the underlying subaccounts. With funds invested in stocks, it is possible that payments could grow at a rate higher than can be achieved by fixed immediate annuities.
 * Immediate fixed annuity
 * Immediate variable annuity

Vanguard annuities

 * Vanguard Annuity Access
 * Vanguard Lifetime Income Program - SPIA
 * Vanguard Variable Annuity
 * Vanguard variable annuity costs

Charitable split interest plans
A split-interest gift is any gift in which a portion is assigned to charity and a portion benefits the donor or his/her designee. Charitable gift annuities, pooled income funds, and charitable remainder trusts are all varieties of split-interest gifts.
 * Charitable gift annuity
 * Charitable pooled income fund
 * Fidelity Pooled Income Fund

Retirement

 * Preparing for retirement
 * Checklist of important retirement dates

Withdrawal methods

 * Withdrawal methods
 * Safe withdrawal rates
 * Trinity study update
 * Variable percentage withdrawal
 * Early retirement

Social Security

 * Social Security
 * Social Security tax impact calculator
 * Taxation of Social Security benefits

Health Insurance

 * Medicare
 * Long-term care insurance

Retirement spending

 * Retirement spending
 * Surveys of retirement spending
 * Retirement risk
 * Introduction to retirement spending models
 * Replacement rate models of retirement spending
 * Budget models of retirement spending
 * Models of spending as retirement progresses
 * Retirement calculators and spending