5 Retirement Moves to Make Before April Ends

If there's one financial task people tend to focus on in April, it's filing taxes. And if you have a lot of forms to gather and different income streams to report, that can be a stressful process.

At this point, the tax-filing deadline is behind us. And that means you can now shift your focus to another financial matter: your retirement. Here are some important moves to make before April wraps up.

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1. Boost IRA or 401(k) contributions

You may have been hesitant to allocate too much money to your IRA or 401(k) for fear of owing the IRS. But now that you've filed your taxes and have, ideally, settled your IRS tab, you can start taking steps to allocate more money to your IRA or 401(k).

Sometimes, boosting IRA or 401(k) contributions boils down to making small changes. And now's a good time to think about how you might spend differently in the months ahead.

Canceling a subscription and dining out one less time per month could free up $50 in May alone. Those two things plus careful grocery shopping could potentially free up $100 for your savings in June.

Be mindful about the steps you can take in the near term to get more money into your retirement account. And if you have a 401(k) plan, make sure you're on track to claim your 2026 workplace match in full.

2. Look into HSA eligibility

It's not just an IRA or 401(k) you can use to build retirement savings. A health savings account, or HSA, can double as a retirement plan. Not only might funds for healthcare spending come in handy in your later years, but once you turn 65, you can take HSA withdrawals for any purpose without incurring penalties.

The only hiccup is that not all health insurance plans are HSA-compatible. To qualify this year, your plan must have:

• An annual deductible of $1,700 or more for self-only coverage, or $3,400 or more for family coverage
• An out-of-pocket maximum of $8,500 for self-only coverage, or $17,000 for family coverage

3. Open a taxable brokerage account for more flexibility

With a taxable brokerage account, you won't get tax-free contributions and tax-deferred gains like with a traditional IRA or 401(k). And you won't get tax-free growth like with a Roth IRA.

But it helps to have a portion of your long-term savings in a taxable brokerage account in case you end up having to retire early. That's because you can take withdrawals at any time without having to worry about facing penalties (as opposed to IRAs and 401(k), which penalize you for withdrawals taken before age 59 1/2). Now's a good time to find a broker whose platform you're comfortable using and start filtering money in.

4. Review your asset allocation

The stock market has been fairly volatile this year in the wake of the Iran conflict. Before the month ends, take the time to review your asset allocation.

Specifically:

• Make sure it's age-appropriate, which means not loading up too heavily on stocks if retirement is near, but not being too conservative if retirement is decades away.
• Make sure you're not overly concentrated in a single market sector.

If you're nearing retirement, it may also be a good time to shift some of your money into cash. That gives you a buffer in case the market crashes just as you're about to start taking withdrawals from your portfolio.

5. Consider a Roth conversion

If you're getting close to retirement, you may be working a bit less, or you may have shifted into a job with fewer demands and a lower salary to match. If you aren't in as high a tax bracket as you were in previous years, it could be a good idea to look into a Roth conversion this month if you have all or most of your savings in a traditional retirement account.

If you keep a large sum of money in a traditional IRA or 401(k), you could end up with huge required minimum distributions starting in your 70s. That could, in turn, push your income to the point where your Social Security benefits are subject to taxes and your Medicare premiums cost more.

While most people associate April with tax returns, there are other important financial moves to consider this month, especially in the context of retirement. Keep these specific ones on your radar so you can avoid financial worries once your career comes to an end.

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