Retirement readiness is built decade by decade, not in a single moment. This checklist covers the essential actions from your 20s through your 60s, with Nevada-specific considerations at each stage. Whether you are just starting your career in Las Vegas or approaching retirement, there are clear steps to take right now.
Get a Personalized Retirement Checklist from SassonThis checklist is organized by decade. Start with your current decade and work forward to see what is coming. If you are behind on any decade's items, prioritize catching up before moving forward, the compounding effect of early actions makes them far more valuable than late corrections. Nevada residents benefit from no state income tax on retirement account withdrawals, Social Security income, and investment gains, a built-in advantage that grows in value with each year of proper planning.
The actions you take in your 20s have more retirement impact than any other decade, not because the amounts are large, but because of time. A dollar saved at 25 has 40 years to compound before retirement at 65. A dollar saved at 45 has only 20 years.
Enroll in your employer's 401(k) as soon as you are eligible. Even a 1% contribution is better than zero, and most people can increase it without noticing the difference in take-home pay. At minimum, contribute enough to capture any employer match: a 100% match on the first 3% of salary is an immediate 100% return that no investment can replicate. In Nevada, 401(k) contributions also reduce your federal taxable income, the only income tax most Nevada residents pay.
Before aggressively investing for retirement, establish a cash emergency fund covering 3–6 months of essential expenses. Without this buffer, any unexpected expense, job loss, medical bill, car repair, forces you to either go into high-interest debt or withdraw from retirement accounts early, triggering taxes and penalties. Your emergency fund is the foundation that makes all other financial plans possible.
In your 20s, your most valuable financial asset is your future earning capacity, not your current savings. Disability insurance protects that asset. If you become disabled before retirement, your ability to save for the future stops, and any existing savings must cover both current expenses and future retirement needs simultaneously. Group disability through your employer is a start; individual own-occupation disability coverage is stronger and portable if you change jobs.
Your 20s are typically your lowest-income, and therefore lowest-tax-bracket, years of your career. Contributing to a Roth IRA now locks in today's low tax rate on that money forever. Nevada has no state income tax on Roth contributions or withdrawals at any age, and federally, qualified Roth withdrawals in retirement are completely tax-free. A Roth IRA started at 25 can grow for 40+ years before retirement without any tax drag on dividends, interest, or capital gains inside the account.
Your 30s typically bring career growth, higher income, and major life changes, marriage, children, home purchase. Each creates both new opportunities to save more and new risks that require protection.
Aim to increase your 401(k) or IRA contribution percentage with every raise, even by just 1% per year. Lifestyle inflation is one of the greatest threats to retirement savings: as income rises, so do spending habits, leaving the same percentage of a larger income still feeling "not enough." Automate contribution increases so they happen without requiring a conscious decision each year. Target at least 15% of gross income toward retirement savings by your mid-30s.
If you have a spouse, children, or anyone financially dependent on your income, life insurance is no longer optional. A term life policy provides income replacement if you die prematurely, protecting your family from the loss of not just you but the retirement savings you would have accumulated over the next 30 years. Nevada has a competitive life insurance market with no state premium tax burden passed to consumers; compare policies from multiple carriers to find the best value for your coverage needs.
Life changes in your 30s, marriage, divorce, childbirth, death of a named beneficiary, require immediate beneficiary updates on all accounts: 401(k), IRA, life insurance, any annuities. Beneficiary designations override what your will says, an ex-spouse named as beneficiary on a 401(k) will receive those assets even if your will says otherwise. Review beneficiaries on every financial account at least annually and after any major life event.
By your mid-30s, especially if you have children, you need at minimum: a will designating guardians for minor children, a durable power of attorney for finances, a healthcare directive or living will, and updated beneficiaries on all accounts. Nevada's community property laws mean that assets acquired during marriage are jointly owned, estate documents should be drafted with Nevada-specific community property rules in mind. An estate attorney can prepare these documents relatively inexpensively.
Your 40s are your peak earning years for many careers, and the last decade where there is enough time remaining to meaningfully course-correct if your retirement trajectory is off. This is also the decade to start addressing long-term care risk.
In your 40s, push to maximize your 401(k) ($23,000 in 2024) and IRA ($7,000). If your employer offers a health savings account (HSA) with a high-deductible health plan, maximize that too, HSA contributions are triple-tax-advantaged (pre-tax contribution, tax-free growth, tax-free withdrawal for medical expenses). Nevada's zero state income tax means every dollar of pre-tax 401(k) contribution saves only federal income tax, but that savings is still meaningful and the tax-deferred compounding is valuable for decades.
Run your retirement projections through stress scenarios: What if markets drop 40% in the first year of retirement? What if you live to 95? What if healthcare costs double? What if one spouse needs long-term care for 5 years? If your plan fails any of these scenarios catastrophically, you have time to adjust, more savings, different asset allocation, different withdrawal strategy, or additional protection products. Run this analysis with a financial representative, not just an online calculator.
In Nevada, the average cost of assisted living is approximately $3,500–$5,000/month; a private nursing home room averages $8,000–$9,000/month (2024 figures for Las Vegas). Medicaid does cover LTC eventually, but only after you have spent down most of your assets. Long-term care insurance, hybrid life/LTC policies, or self-funding strategies need to be modeled in your 40s while you are still healthy enough to qualify for good-rate coverage. Waiting until your 60s often means significantly higher premiums or health-related denial.
In your 40s, if your traditional IRA and 401(k) balances are growing substantially, begin modeling the Roth conversion ladder, converting manageable amounts each year from traditional to Roth accounts. Each converted dollar grows tax-free thereafter and does not contribute to future Required Minimum Distributions or Social Security provisional income. Nevada's zero state income tax means Roth conversions cost only federal income tax, making Nevada one of the best states in the country for building Roth balances strategically over decades.
Your 50s are when retirement shifts from abstract to concrete. Catch-up contributions become available, Social Security decisions begin to loom, and healthcare planning before Medicare becomes critical.
At age 50, you become eligible for catch-up contributions: an additional $7,500/year to your 401(k) (total $30,500 in 2024) and an additional $1,000/year to an IRA (total $8,000). SECURE 2.0 Act increases catch-up contributions further for ages 60–63 beginning in 2025. For someone in their 50s with significant traditional IRA balances, catch-up Roth IRA contributions (or backdoor Roth if income limits apply) also accelerate the transition to tax-free retirement income.
The decade before retirement is often the most valuable window for Roth conversions, income may be at its peak, but you still have time to let converted assets grow tax-free before retirement. Model the optimal conversion amount each year: enough to fill up your current federal tax bracket without crossing into the next. Nevada's zero state income tax means every Roth conversion converts at only the federal marginal rate, compare this to California, where the same conversion also triggers up to 13.3% California state income tax on every dollar converted.
If you plan to retire before age 65 (Medicare eligibility), you need a healthcare coverage bridge. Options include: COBRA from your employer (limited to 18 months), ACA marketplace coverage, a spouse's employer plan, or health sharing arrangements. In Nevada, ACA marketplace premiums are often manageable, particularly for early retirees with lower taxable income, who may qualify for significant premium tax credits. Budget healthcare costs as a primary line item in your pre-Medicare retirement budget; underestimating them is a common planning error.
In your mid-50s, begin seriously modeling your Social Security claiming strategy. Pull your SSA statement (ssa.gov/myaccount) and review your earnings history for accuracy. Model claiming at 62, 67, and 70. For married couples, model the coordinated spousal/survivor strategy where the higher earner delays to 70. The claiming decision should integrate with your broader withdrawal strategy, Roth conversion plan, and Medicare cost projection. This is too important to leave until age 62 with a rushed decision. See: Social Security Claiming Mistakes to Avoid.
Your 60s are the decade of convergence, Social Security, Medicare, RMDs, and full retirement all arrive in close succession. Proper coordination of these events can save tens of thousands in taxes and maximize lifetime income.
By age 62, you must decide whether to claim or continue delaying. For most healthy retirees with adequate other income, delaying to 70 is the highest-value Social Security decision available. The income bridge from 62 to 70 can be funded using the bucket strategy, drawing from retirement accounts while SS delay credits accumulate at 8% per year past Full Retirement Age. For married couples, coordinate with your spouse's claiming timing to maximize the survivor benefit. See: Social Security Claiming Mistakes to Avoid.
Medicare Part A and Part B enrollment has specific timing rules. Most people should enroll at 65, even if they have other coverage, failing to enroll on time can result in permanent premium penalties for Part B (10% per year of delay) and Part D (1% per month of delay). If you are still working and covered by an employer plan at 65, there are specific rules about whether you can delay without penalty. Missing the enrollment window is an irreversible mistake; set a reminder for your 64th birthday to begin researching your specific situation.
The order in which you withdraw from different account types, taxable, traditional IRA, Roth, significantly affects lifetime tax liability. A common approach: draw from taxable accounts and Social Security first (while doing Roth conversions with the remaining IRA income), then from traditional IRAs, and preserve Roth accounts last (or use strategically to manage provisional income). Nevada's zero state income tax means withdrawal sequencing is a purely federal tax optimization problem, but the federal tax savings from optimal sequencing are still substantial. See: Tax Planning Strategies.
As you approach and enter retirement, update your estate plan to reflect your actual asset distribution: which accounts go to which beneficiaries (including per stirpes designations for multi-generational planning), powers of attorney for healthcare and finances, living will for end-of-life decisions, and, for larger estates, potential trust structures. Nevada has no state estate tax regardless of estate size, and no inheritance tax, a meaningful advantage over states like Oregon and Massachusetts that begin taxing estates at $1M or less. Review all documents with a Nevada estate attorney at least every 3–5 years.
Understanding the contribution limits available at each life stage helps you plan how aggressively you can save. Nevada's zero state income tax applies to all these contributions and their eventual tax-free Roth withdrawals.
Nevada levies no state income tax on wages, retirement income, Social Security, IRA withdrawals, capital gains, or any other income. This advantage compounds across every decade: more take-home pay in your 20s and 30s to invest, lower Roth conversion costs in your 40s and 50s, and more after-tax retirement income in your 60s and beyond. Compared to California, which taxes income at up to 13.3%, the lifetime Nevada advantage for a high-income retiree can easily exceed $500,000.
Nevada has no estate tax and no inheritance tax, regardless of estate size. This is a significant advantage over states like Oregon ($1M exemption), Massachusetts ($2M exemption), and New York ($7.16M exemption with a cliff). Nevada retirees can accumulate larger estates without triggering state estate taxes, and heirs inherit those assets without state-level death taxes.
Nevada is a community property state, assets acquired during marriage are owned equally by both spouses. This affects estate planning (community property receives a full step-up in basis at death), divorce settlements (equal division of marital assets), and beneficiary considerations. Nevada also allows Domestic Asset Protection Trusts (DAPTs), among the strongest creditor protection structures available in any state, making Nevada an attractive trust jurisdiction for larger estates.
Las Vegas offers a relatively affordable cost of living compared to other major metros, particularly for housing relative to income, while providing the amenities of a major city: world-class healthcare facilities, major airports, entertainment, dining, and a large retiree community. The combination of Nevada's tax advantages and Las Vegas's cost structure makes it one of the most financially favorable retirement destinations in the western United States.
If you recently moved to Nevada from California, Texas, Florida, or another state, your retirement plan likely needs revision to reflect Nevada's specific tax and legal environment. Community property implications, zero state income tax on all investment activity, and Nevada's trust laws all create new planning opportunities, and potential missteps, if your plan was built under a different state's rules.
Married couples have the most complex Social Security, beneficiary, and withdrawal sequencing decisions, and the most to gain from proper coordination. Each decade's checklist items compound in complexity for two-person households: two earnings records for Social Security, two retirement accounts to coordinate Roth conversions across, community property implications for estate planning, and survivor benefit analysis for SS timing.
Self-employed Nevada residents, common in the service, entertainment, real estate, and hospitality industries that anchor the Las Vegas economy, have access to powerful retirement savings tools: SEP IRAs (up to $69,000/year in 2024), Solo 401(k)s (up to $69,000/year including employer contribution), and SIMPLE IRAs. Maximizing these contributions, combined with Nevada's zero state income tax on income, creates an exceptionally powerful wealth-building environment for self-employed individuals.
If you have never sat down with a financial representative to map out a decade-by-decade retirement plan, this checklist is the starting point. Many Nevada residents have significant assets, retirement accounts, home equity, life insurance cash value, but no coordinated plan connecting those assets to a retirement income strategy, Social Security timing, tax-efficient withdrawal sequence, and estate plan. A comprehensive financial plan brings all those pieces together. See: What Is a Comprehensive Financial Plan?
Before planning where to go, know where you are: total retirement account balances by account type (traditional IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k), taxable), current contribution rates, outstanding debt levels, current life and disability insurance coverage, and any existing estate documents. This inventory is the starting point for every financial planning conversation and reveals gaps immediately, beneficiary forms not updated, life insurance that expired, disability coverage that ended when you changed jobs, and more.
Estimate your retirement expenses (start with 70-80% of current spending, adjust for travel plans and healthcare increases). Identify all guaranteed income sources: Social Security at various claiming ages, any pension, rental income, annuity payments. The gap between expected expenses and guaranteed income is what your portfolio must fund. Knowing this gap tells you exactly how much you need to save, and whether your current trajectory closes it by your target retirement date.
Using the checklists above, identify the 3–5 most impactful actions for your current decade. Prioritize in order of impact: first close any coverage gaps (disability insurance, life insurance if you have dependents); then maximize tax-advantaged contributions; then optimize account type choices (Roth vs. traditional); then address estate documents. Coordinate every action with Nevada's specific tax and legal environment, the lack of state income tax changes the math on Roth vs. traditional and on Roth conversion timing specifically.
A retirement plan is not a one-time document, it requires annual review and updates after any major life event: job change, income change, marriage, divorce, childbirth, health event, or significant change in assets. Annual reviews ensure contribution rates are keeping pace with income, beneficiary designations remain current, insurance coverage remains adequate, and the overall plan trajectory is on track. See: Should I Review My Financial Plan Annually? for a complete review checklist.
Common benchmarks by age: 1x your annual salary by age 30; 3x by 40; 6x by 50; 8x by 60; 10x by Full Retirement Age. These are general guidelines, not absolute targets, your specific number depends on your retirement age, expected lifestyle spending, Social Security income, any pension, and other income sources.
Nevada retirees benefit from no state income tax on withdrawals, which effectively increases the after-tax purchasing power of each saved dollar compared to high-tax states. A Nevada retiree with $1M in a traditional IRA keeps more of each withdrawal than a California retiree with the same balance, meaning the "enough" number is somewhat lower in Nevada than in high-tax states.
The answer is always: right now. The earlier you start, the more powerful compound growth works in your favor. A 25-year-old who saves $300/month at a 7% average annual return will have approximately $1 million by age 65. The same $300/month started at 35 produces approximately $480,000 by 65. Each decade of delay roughly halves the eventual account balance for the same monthly contribution.
Even if you are starting in your 40s or 50s, beginning now is significantly better than continuing to delay. Catch-up contributions, Roth conversions, and Social Security optimization can dramatically improve retirement readiness even for those who start late, but only if they start immediately, not "next year."
Catch-up contributions are additional amounts the IRS allows retirement account savers age 50 and older to contribute beyond the standard annual limits. In 2024, those 50+ can contribute an extra $7,500 to a 401(k) (total $30,500) and an extra $1,000 to an IRA (total $8,000). Starting in 2025, SECURE 2.0 creates a higher "super catch-up" for those aged 60–63 in 401(k) plans, allowing contributions up to $34,750.
Nevada residents using catch-up contributions benefit from the full contribution reducing federal taxable income, Nevada's only income tax layer, while those converted dollars grow tax-deferred or tax-free in a Roth. Maximizing catch-up contributions in your 50s and 60s is one of the most impactful retirement savings actions available.
In Nevada, assisted living costs average $3,500–$5,000/month, and private nursing home rooms average $8,000–$9,000/month in the Las Vegas area (2024 figures). These costs can last 2–5 years or longer, creating a potential $200,000–$500,000+ expense that most retirement plans do not adequately account for.
Financial planners typically recommend beginning long-term care conversations in your mid-40s to early 50s, while you are still healthy enough to qualify for coverage at reasonable premium rates. Nevada's Partnership Program provides additional Medicaid asset protection for those who purchase qualifying LTC insurance. Waiting until your 60s often means significantly higher premiums or health-based denial of coverage. Learn more about long-term care planning options.
The Roth vs. traditional decision hinges on whether you expect to be in a higher or lower tax bracket in retirement than you are today. If you are early in your career (lower income now, likely higher income later), Roth is generally superior, you pay taxes now at a lower rate and let money grow tax-free indefinitely. If you are in your peak earning years and expect lower income in retirement, traditional contributions may be more valuable today.
For Nevada residents, the calculus is slightly different: there is no state income tax deduction from traditional contributions (since Nevada has no income tax), and no state tax on Roth withdrawals (since Nevada has no income tax). The federal tax analysis still applies fully. Many Nevada residents benefit from a mix: maximize 401(k) traditional contributions for the federal deduction, while also contributing to a Roth IRA or doing systematic Roth conversions. A financial representative can model the optimal split for your specific situation.
Your retirement accounts themselves, 401(k), IRA, Roth, are not state-specific and move with you regardless of where you live. The tax treatment of withdrawals, however, is entirely based on your state of residence when you take the withdrawal. If you live in Nevada when you withdraw from an IRA, Nevada levies no state tax. If you later move to California and take the same withdrawal, California taxes it at up to 13.3%.
This has an important implication for Roth conversions: if you plan to retire in Nevada but eventually move to a higher-tax state (to be closer to family, for example), executing Roth conversions while you are still a Nevada resident gives you tax-free withdrawals no matter where you live in the future, because qualified Roth withdrawals are federally tax-free and not subject to the new state's income tax once the conversion tax has been paid.
Six milestones to complete as you approach retirement.
Every decade has its own priorities, and every Nevada household has its own unique combination of assets, income, and goals. Sasson Emambakhsh (NV #4185790 | TX #3460699 | FL #G322852 | AZ #22097825) helps residents of Nevada, Texas, Florida, and Arizona build personalized decade-by-decade retirement plans that account for Social Security timing, Roth conversion strategy, Nevada's no-income-tax environment, and long-term income protection, at no cost and with no obligation.
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