What retirees should do before 73

Good afternoon. We're just getting into the week, and today's lineup is built around a few stories our readers have leaned on most: the kind that help you catch a blind spot before it costs you.

On The Money Today:

Let's get into it.

The IRS doesn't just start RMDs at 73. It keeps raising the required percentage every year after, from 3.8% at 73 to over 8% by 90. Waiting to deal with this only means a bigger forced withdrawal, and a bigger tax bill, down the road. Keep reading to see the one move that can flatten this curve before it ever starts.

Mark Cuban isn't mincing words: if your retirement account holds a broad index fund, there's a good chance you own a piece of the health insurers he says are driving up costs for everyone, including you.

He's not just venting online. He's naming specific companies and dollar figures, and calling on fund holders to do something about it. Whether or not you agree with his solution, it's worth knowing exactly what's sitting inside your own 401(k) before deciding whether to ignore him.

Why it matters: If your 401(k) tracks a broad index like the S&P 500, you likely own UnitedHealth, CVS, or Cigna whether you meant to or not, and most people have never checked.

High-yield savings accounts look great right up until your bank quietly trims the rate, and there's rarely any warning when it happens. A Certificate of Deposit works differently — it locks in your return for the full term, so the rate you open with is the rate you keep, no matter what the Fed does next.

Platforms like CD Valet lets you compare every publicly available rate across more than 40,000 verified offers from FDIC-insured banks and credit unions nationwide, with nothing hidden the way some comparison sites operate. Their free earnings calculator lets you weigh a 12-month term against a 24-month term side by side, and a real-time rate map shows the best offers in your state, many of which you can open online from wherever you are.

Robert Kiyosaki has built a career on bold predictions, and this one might be his starkest yet: he says an entire generation of investors could be blindsided by what happens next in the market. He's vague on timing, but the underlying math he's pointing to is real, and it hits very differently depending on how close you are to living off your savings.

Whether or not his prediction plays out, it raises a fair question: how much of your retirement plan depends on the market simply staying calm?

Why it matters: Retirees don't have decades to wait out a downturn the way younger investors do, so a bad stretch early in retirement can permanently shrink what your savings can support.

Most retirees hate touching their savings. Surveys show the typical 65-year-old withdraws far less than the standard rules assume. That instinct feels responsible, but delaying it too long can undercut you once the IRS starts requiring withdrawals whether you're ready or not.

There's a specific move available in your 60s that can shrink those forced withdrawals for good, but it only works if you make it before RMDs kick in. Waiting until 73 to figure this out is too late.

Why it matters: RMDs start at 73, and once they kick in there's no undoing the tax bill — the conversion window that avoids this only exists in your 60s.

The answer is: D) About $580,000. That's the average 401(k) balance for Americans in their 60s, per Empower's 2026 data. The median (a better read on the "typical" saver) is far lower at just $191,372, so if you're feeling behind the average, you've got company.