Catch-Up Retirement

If your retirement plan was "I'll figure it out later, " later just showed up. You're 54. You make decent money. There's maybe $24, 000 in a 401(k) you've stopped opening. Social Security is a question mark, your friends won't shut up about Roth conversions, and every retirement book on the shelf was written for someone who started at 25. You're not failing. You're behind, and behind is a different problem with a different solution.
Catch-Up Retirement is the no-shame, math-honest plan for the readers nobody writes for: late starters in their 50s and early 60s who still have time, but not unlimited time. Including the rule changes most books on this shelf were printed too early to include:- The four-year window almost nobody told you about. If you're 60 to 63, SECURE 2.0 lets you put $35, 750 into a 401(k) in 2026 instead of $32, 500 - but your employer has to have opted in, and nothing in your benefits portal will tell you whether they did.- The Roth catch-up rule that took effect January 1, 2026, which can switch your catch-up contributions off entirely if you earned over $150, 000 last year and your plan has no Roth option.- The ACA subsidy cliff came back.
The enhanced credits expired in 2026 and the 400%-of-poverty cutoff returned. If you retire before 65, one mistimed withdrawal can cost you five figures in a single year. Inside:- The honest math - how much you actually need, built from your real spending instead of a made-up 80% rule, usually a fraction of the $1.46 million you've been quoted- Why Social Security is the largest asset most readers of this book will ever own, and the claiming decision that's worth more than every investment choice combined- The 7-year roadmap: a year-by-year plan with 3 to 5 specific tasks per year, the kind you check off- The healthcare gap from 62 to 65, priced honestly, with the four bridge strategies and the one that doesn't actually work- Where to invest when you're catching up, and why "going aggressive to make up time" is the most expensive mistake in the book- Debt, the house, working longer, family emergencies, and how to tell a fiduciary from a salesperson- A 90-day action plan, and a companion spreadsheet that builds your number in fifteen minutesWritten by someone who spent a decade on the other side of a mortgage desk, reading several hundred versions of your file, and who won't pretend you can retire on dividends from an imaginary portfolio.
Every figure current for 2026. No course, no coaching program, nothing for sale at the end. Late start. Strong finish.