Category: Blog

The 4% Rule in Retirement: Why It Doesn’t Work for Women

The 4% rule assumes a 30-year retirement. Women often need 35 to 40 years. Here’s the real safe…

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Should a Widow Sell the House? The Two-Year Tax Deadline Nobody Mentions

Should a widow sell the house? The 2-year $500,000 exclusion, the step-up in basis, and when keeping the…

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Laid Off at 55 with $1M+? The Five-Move Financial Checklist

Laid off at 55 with $1M+? The five-move checklist: severance deadlines, stock option windows, COBRA vs. ACA, the…

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Should I Max Out My 401(k)? Why the Answer Changes in Your 50s

Author: Hazel Secco, CFP®, CDFA® 🎧 Prefer to watch or listen? This episode of Align Your Retirement covers…

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Inherited 401(k) Spouse Options: The Choice Widows Under 59½ Get Wrong

Inherited 401k spouse options: why rolling his 401(k) or IRA into your own before 59½ locks it behind…

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Health Insurance Before Medicare: How to Retire Before 65

Retiring before 65? ACA subsidies key off your income. How the MAGI dial, the 2026 subsidy cliff, and…

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Retirement Planning for Women Over 50: The Complete Guide

Author: Hazel Secco, CFP®, CDFA® Most retirement advice was built around a model client: a man who worked…

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Retirement Withdrawal Strategy: Which Accounts to Tap First

Author: Hazel Secco, CFP®, CDFA® Table of contents You spent thirty years deciding how much to save. In…

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Verizon Employee Benefits: 401(k), Pension & Separation Offers

Written by Hazel Secco, CFP®, CDFA® Verizon’s benefits package is one of the strongest in corporate America, a…

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The Widow’s Penalty: Why Taxes Often Rise After Losing a Spouse

Author: Hazel Secco, CFP®, CDFA® Why does a widow usually pay more in taxes than she did when…

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