The investment allocation that made sense when you were 20 years from retirement is almost certainly not the right allocation when you're five years out. Pre-retirees typically need to shift from a growth-oriented portfolio toward a mix that balances growth with capital preservation and income generation — while still managing inflation risk over a retirement that could span 25 or 30 years. A portfolio review that accounts for your pension income, Social Security benefit, planned retirement date, and spending needs can clarify whether your current 401(k) allocation is still working for you.

For Banner Health employees with both a pension and a 401(k) balance, retirement income sequencing — the order in which you draw from different sources — has a direct impact on your lifetime tax bill and the longevity of your savings. Pension income is typically taxable and begins immediately; 401(k) distributions are taxable as ordinary income and subject to required minimum distributions beginning at age 73; Social Security may be partially taxable depending on your combined income. Roth conversion opportunities in early retirement, before RMDs and full Social Security begin, are one of the most commonly overlooked levers in retirement tax planning.

Retirement readiness is more than a target savings number — it's a comprehensive picture of income, expenses, healthcare coverage, tax liability, and longevity risk. For Banner Health employees, that picture typically includes a pension election decision, a Social Security claiming strategy, a healthcare bridge plan if retiring before 65, and a withdrawal strategy for the 401(k). A retirement readiness analysis stress-tests that picture against realistic scenarios — extended longevity, healthcare cost inflation, and early-retirement market downturns — to surface gaps before you hand in your badge.

At retirement, you generally have four options for your 401(k) balance: leave it in the Banner Health plan, roll it to an IRA, roll it into a new employer's plan, or begin taking distributions. Each option has different implications for investment choices, fees, RMD timing, creditor protection, and tax treatment. For employees with large balances, the rollover decision is worth careful analysis — the institutional pricing available inside a large employer plan can be difficult to replicate in a retail IRA, and that cost difference compounds over time.

The final years before retirement are typically peak earning years — and peak tax years. Maximizing pre-tax 401(k) contributions, including the $7,500 catch-up contribution available to employees 50 and older, is the most straightforward lever. For employees whose Banner Health plan allows after-tax contributions beyond the standard IRS limits, the mega backdoor Roth strategy may also be available — enabling additional tax-free accumulation at a time when marginal rates are often at their highest. Whether these strategies apply to your situation depends on the specific terms of the Banner Health plan and your individual income and tax picture.

The most consistent feedback from Banner Health retirees is that they wished they had started sooner. Three to five years before your target retirement date is the window where planning has the most leverage — pension timing decisions, 401(k) contribution strategy, Social Security modeling, and healthcare bridge planning all take time to optimize properly. Starting in the final 6–12 months leaves you reactive rather than strategic, and some decisions — particularly pension elections and certain benefit enrollments — have deadlines that cannot be revised once passed.