Retirement 101

Eight short chapters. Read in an evening. No email required. The whole arc of a retirement plan — the paycheck, Social Security, the tax buckets, the spending order, Medicare, RMDs, and market risk — explained in plain English, in the order the decisions actually connect.

8 chapters · About 40 minutes · Free · 2026 figures

Start Chapter 1 Or jump to any chapter below — each stands alone.

The syllabus

Sequential — each chapter builds on the last

The retirement paycheck

The core reframe: you stop earning a paycheck and start building one — and the pillars it is assembled from.

Chapter 1 · About 5 min Read

Social Security, decoded

Full retirement age, the 62-vs-70 math, and why the higher earner's decision covers two lifetimes.

Chapter 2 · About 5 min Read

Your accounts and how they're taxed

Taxable, tax-deferred, tax-free: three deals with the IRS, and why the mix shapes every later decision.

Chapter 3 · About 5 min Read

The order you spend matters

Withdrawal sequencing, bracket-filling, and the tax torpedo hiding in the middle of the income scale.

Chapter 4 · About 5 min Read

Medicare without the maze

The four parts, the seven-month window, and the income surcharge that looks back two years.

Chapter 5 · About 5 min Read

RMDs, QCDs, and the age-73 clock

What the IRS requires you to withdraw, when the clock starts, and the charitable move that softens it.

Chapter 6 · About 5 min Read

Markets, risk, and the first five years

Sequence risk, cash reserves, and why the first years of retirement carry outsized weight.

Chapter 7 · About 5 min Read

Putting it together

What a real plan coordinates, when doing it yourself works, and when professional help earns its keep.

Chapter 8 · About 5 min Read

How the course works

Education, not advice

Plain English

Every term is defined the first time it appears, with a link to the glossary. No jargon defining jargon.

Sequential by design

The chapters follow the order the decisions connect — what you learn in one is used in the next. Read straight through, or jump in anywhere.

Grounded in the library

Each chapter draws on the site's full guides and 2026 figures, and ends with links to go deeper on anything that hits home.

Ready for the next step?

A course is a map. A plan is the work.

When the reading turns into real decisions, a 30-minute conversation turns these chapters into a coordinated read across investments, taxes, and income — built around your situation. No cost, no pitch.

Start with your score Talk to the firm

Educational course. Not personalized advice.