My Retirement Learning Curve

THE NEW WORLD OF RETIREMENT

- BY SANDRA BLOCK

LIKE a lot of people, I've eased my way into retirement. Since I left my role as a senior editor at Kiplinger Personal Finance about a year ago, I've continued to write freelance articles and columns for the magazine, and I've contributed to Kiplinger Retirement Report along with other publications, too. When I'm not writing about personal finance, I'm busy managing my own retirement finances, which sometimes feels like a full-time job. Some lessons I've learned:

Taxes are complicated. While I was working for an employer, I had taxes withheld from my paycheck, so I didn't pay much attention to taxes until it was time for my husband and me to file our return. Now, we have income from multiple sources, including my self-employment earnings and withdrawals from tax-deferred savings plans. To avoid underpayment penalties, I've had to make quarterly estimated tax payments and keep track of deductible expenses to claim when I file our 2025 tax return. If you're newly retired, you may want to enlist an experienced tax preparer to help you.