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Maximizing Your Final Working Years: Catch-Up Contributions & Last-Chance Retirement Strategies

 

If you’re in your 50s or early 60s, retirement is no longer a distant concept—it’s a lived countdown. The good news? These years can be some of the most powerful for accelerating your financial readiness. With higher incomes, reduced family expenses, and specialized IRS contribution rules designed for late-stage savers, the pre-retirement phase is an opportunity to close gaps, strengthen stability, and enter retirement with confidence.

Here are smart, strategic moves to make the most of these critical years.

 

Max Out Catch-Up Contributions

Once you turn 50, retirement accounts offer expanded contribution limits—giving you the chance to save more than younger workers can.

  • 401(k), 403(b), and similar employer plans: You can contribute the standard annual limit plus an additional catch-up amount each year once age 50+.
  • Traditional and Roth IRAs: Catch-up contributions let you increase your annual savings beyond the regular IRA max.
  • SIMPLE IRA or SEP IRA participants: These plans also have added contribution allowances for those over 50.

 

These catch-up provisions exist specifically for people like you—individuals closing in on retirement who may need to boost savings quickly.

 

Evaluate How Long You’ll Work

Extending your career—whether full-time, part-time, or through phased retirement—may significantly impact your financial picture.

Working longer can mean:

  • More years contributing to retirement accounts
  • Delaying Social Security to increase your lifetime benefit
  • Shortening the number of years you’ll rely on withdrawals

 

Even one to three extra working years can dramatically strengthen financial resilience.

 

Potentially Optimize Social Security Timing

Claiming benefits early might be tempting, but it comes with tradeoffs.

Key considerations:

  • Claiming at 62 results in permanently reduced benefits.
  • Waiting until full retirement age (FRA) or even age 70 can lead to substantially higher monthly income.
  • For married couples, coordinating spousal strategies can increase long-term household income.

 

A personalized analysis can help determine the break-even point and which timing strategy best aligns with your goals.

 

Revisit Your Investment Allocation

The home stretch to retirement is about balance—growth for rising longevity, and mitigating risk against market downturns.

Questions to explore:

  • Do you have the right mix of stocks, bonds, and other assets?
  • Are you taking too much—or too little—risk?
  • Is your portfolio built to support withdrawals for decades, not just years?

 

A well-designed allocation should support both pre-retirement accumulation and post-retirement income sustainability.

 

Reduce Debt & Strengthen Cash Flow

Retirement feels very different when you’re not carrying heavy financial obligations.

Consider:

  • Paying down high-interest debt
  • Strategically reducing mortgage years ahead of retirement
  • Downsizing or relocating to free up liquidity and lower expenses

 

Every dollar not tied to payments is one more dollar available to fund the life you want.

 

Create a Withdrawal-Ready Income Plan

Saving is step one—turning those savings into lifelong income is step two.

A strong income plan should help you determine:

  • Which accounts to withdraw from first
  • How to minimize taxes over time
  • How inflation and market volatility affect sustainability
  • Which strategies protect a surviving spouse

 

Pre-retirement is the perfect time to model different scenarios and stress-test the long-term impact of your decisions. To discuss your retirement strategies, please contact us at in**@************rs.com.

 

 

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

Vertex Planning Partners and LPL Financial do not provide legal advice or tax services. Please consult your legal advisor or tax advisor regarding your specific situation.
Asset allocation does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.

Traditional IRA account owners have considerations to make before performing a Roth IRA conversion. These primarily include income tax consequences on the converted amount in the year of conversion, withdrawal limitations from a Roth IRA, and income limitations for future contributions to a Roth IRA. In addition, if you are required to take a required minimum distribution (RMD) in the year you convert, you must do so before converting to a Roth IRA.

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Peter M. Babilla, CFP®, CRPS®

PARTNER

Peter Babilla brings 40 years of experience in investment management and fiduciary* financial consulting to Vertex Planning Partners, LLC.

Pete graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana with a Bachelor’s of Science in Finance.

He began his career in 1983 with a focus on institutional fixed-income portfolio management, primarily working with community banks. After a decade serving institutional clients, Pete shifted his focus to working with individuals, families and business owners, providing guidance and education in all areas of Wealth Management.  Among his areas of focus are accumulation and retirement planning, investment management, risk management, and estate and wealth transfer.

Pete’s planning philosophy allows him to create a personalized program for clients, based on their own unique goals and circumstances.  The extensive investment and planning platform offered by Vertex enables him to create a highly customized program, tailored to each individual client.

Pete and his wife Suzanne have two children, and have resided in Wheaton, Illinois for the past 30 years.  He enjoys golf, reading, and traveling with his family.  Pete gives back as a past Board Member of the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago, where his focus is on improving the lives of those living with epilepsy.

Pete works as fiduciary for his clients and holds the CERTIFIED FIANANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) designation and the Chartered Retirement Plan Specialist (CRPS®) designation.

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JUSTIN J. D'AGOSTINO, CFP®, TPCP®, ChFC®, CRPC®

PARTNER

Justin D’Agostino joined Vertex Partners in 2019 and serves a select group of business owners and affluent families. He specializes in investments, financial planning, and succession planning. His interest and knowledge in providing comprehensive financial planning and wealth management services to clients was sparked when he worked at a boutique tax and wealth management firm in Michigan. He has nine years of experience in the financial services industry, and his mission is to provide every client with targeted, comprehensive financial advice and to help them implement customized strategies designed to move them closer to accomplishing their unique goals.

Justin attended Hillsdale College where he earned his BA in Accounting and Financial Management and was a member and captain of the football team. Justin is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional, and holds the Tax Planning Certified Professional®, Chartered Financial Consultant® and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor™ designations.

Justin and his wife, Alexandra, reside in Chicago, Illinois. He is an avid sports fan and enjoys golfing, playing soccer and spending summer weekends with his family.

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Scott A. Sandee CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CEPA

MANAGING PARTNER

Scott Sandee brings over 20 years of experience as Managing Partner. He is responsible for leading the firm’s efforts in assisting middle-market business owners and seven and eight-figure families to plan and realize financial goals based on their unique aspirations and situations.

With a privately held family business background, Scott has helped owners prepare for and execute a successful transition. In addition, he works with business owners and their advisors to develop financial strategies to maximize sales proceeds and minimize future taxes.

Before joining Vertex, Scott served in financial planning and investment strategy roles at Oxford Financial Group, Capital Group, and The Northern Trust Company, working with Chicago’s HNW/UHNW families clients.

Scott holds the Certified Financial Planner®, Certified Private Wealth Advisor®, Certified Investment Management Analyst®, and Certified Exit Planning Advisor designations. Scott earned his B.S. in Computer Science from Northern Illinois University, and his family resides in Wilmette, IL.

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Julie Hupp CFP®, MBA

PARTNER

Julie Hupp, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, has worked in the accounting and corporate finance field since 1987. She began her career as a CPA with Deloitte & Touche, specializing in the financial needs of small businesses. Then spent the next 13 years in corporate financial planning and business development at Baxter and TAP Pharmaceuticals. Recognizing her passion for personal financial planning, Julie started her business in 2006 where she focuses on comprehensive financial planning strategies and implementation.

Julie graduated from University of Illinois with a BS in Accountancy. She received her Master’s in Management with a concentration in Finance from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 1994.

Outside the office, Julie is the co-founder of the 12 Oaks Foundation, which has merged with Cal’s Angels, and is a former Board member. Julie enjoys cooking, reading, running, triathlons and doing almost anything outdoors. A great weekend is spending time with her husband and two adult kids boating at their lake house in Wisconsin.

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Steven P. Franzen, CPA, PFS, CGMA

MANAGING PARTNER

Steven P. Franzen, CPA, PFS, CGMA is a public accountant and consultant with more than 23 years of experience helping individuals and businesses reduce their tax liability.  He began his career under the guidance of Patrick M. De Sio, CPA, CGMA and in 1996 became Mr. De Sio’s partner in De Sio, Franzen & Associates, Ltd. Steve’s expertise include entity design, complex tax strategies and multigenerational wealth transfer.  As Managing Partner, Steve conducts his practice under the philosophy that the client’s investment in their CPA should yield a return on that investment – most of the time that return is realized when working with clients on planning for their future. In an effort to increase the planning capabilities of the firm,  Steve formed Vertex Accounting Partners, LLC to ensure their guiding philosophy will continue well into the future.

Steve is a certified public accountant and has earned the professional designations of Personal Financial Specialist and Chartered Global Management Accountant.  He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Illinois CPA Society.  Steve earned a B.S. degree in accounting from Millikin University.  He and his wife Kristie live in Sugar Grove, IL with their three children.

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Gregory P. Benner, CPWA®, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®, AIF®, RMA®

MANAGING PARTNER

Gregory P. Benner, CPWA®, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, AIF®, RMA® has over twenty-two years of experience as a financial advisor. Greg’s practice is based on developing holistic financial plans that help his clients integrate sophisticated retirement, tax, risk management and estate planning strategies into an actionable plan, then stay the course as their behavioral coach.

Prior to founding Vertex Planning Partners, LLC, Greg spent four years as a founding partner of a Registered Investment Advisory firm affiliated with LPL Financial. He also spent seven years with JPMorgan Chase as a Senior Financial Advisor and was a Financial Representative with Northwestern Mutual Life.

Greg holds the Certified Private Wealth Advisor® designation and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Certificant. He also holds the Chartered Financial Consultant®, Chartered Life Underwriter®, Accredited Investment Fiduciary™, and Retirement Management AdvisorSM designations. He earned a B.S. in Finance from Miami University and a Master of Science in Taxation (MST) from the University of Cincinnati.

He and his wife Lindsey reside in Naperville, IL with their daughter and twin sons.

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Michael D. Bellis, CFP®, CLU®

MANAGING PARTNER

Michael D. Bellis, CFP®, CLU® began his career as a financial planning professional in 1994. His practice is centered on holistic financial planning, astute risk management strategies and empirical, research-driven portfolio construction. He began his career in partnership with his father under the name Bellis & Associates. Together, their practice and reputation for excellence dates back more than 40 years and includes multiple generations of the same families. After his father’s retirement several years ago, Mike continued to build a client-centric, consultative practice before forming Vertex.

Mike holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification and is also a Chartered Life Underwriter. He has been an active member of both the Society of Financial Services Professionals and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. He earned a B.S. in Business & Marketing from Illinois State University. Mike is a lifelong resident of Naperville, Illinois. He and his wife Tanja have three children.

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