Year-End Financial Planning Guide: 9 Questions to Prepare for 2026
As 2025 winds down, your focus may be turning toward holiday gatherings, travel plans, and time with loved ones. Between the bustle of the season and the joy of slowing down, this is also a natural moment to pause and review your financial picture. A thoughtful year-end check-in with your advisor can help you enter 2026 with clarity and confidence.
After all, it’s been another year of change. The continued rollout of the SECURE 2.0 Act has brought new retirement plan provisions into effect, from higher catch-up contribution limits to expanded eligibility for part-time employees. Interest rates have remained elevated, market volatility has tested investors’ patience, and student loan rules have shifted yet again.
How can you make sense of what all this means for your financial wellness? By taking time to connect with your trusted advisor — and coming prepared with the right questions to guide a meaningful conversation.
Below are nine topics to discuss as you close out 2025.
- Can I Contribute More to My Retirement Accounts?
Even in uncertain markets, consistent retirement contributions remain one of the most reliable long-term strategies for building wealth. For 2025, the contribution limits for 401(k) and IRA plans have increased again, and new catch-up provisions under SECURE 2.0 now allow individuals ages 60–63 to make larger “super” catch-up contributions.
Ask your advisor:
- Am I contributing enough to capture my employer match?
- Should I increase my contributions before year-end?
- Would a Roth or traditional contribution make more sense for my tax situation this year?
If you’ve had income changes, consider how much flexibility you have to invest more now — or how to rebalance contributions with other goals like building savings or reducing debt.
- Do I Have FSA or HSA Dollars to Use or Carry Over?
Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health savings accounts (HSAs) are valuable, tax-advantaged tools — but they come with deadlines and limits. Review your FSA balance to ensure you don’t forfeit unused funds. Some plans allow a small rollover (the carry-over limit for 2025 is $640), while others follow a “use it or lose it” rule.
If you have an HSA, check whether you’ve contributed the annual maximum. These accounts can grow tax-free for future medical expenses — or even serve as an additional long-term savings vehicle.
Your advisor can help you coordinate health-account strategies with your broader cash-flow plan.
- Should I Consider a Roth Conversion?
With tax laws set to change in 2026 — when current income-tax brackets are scheduled to sunset — 2025 may be a strategic time to evaluate a Roth conversion. Converting pre-tax retirement dollars (like from a traditional IRA) into a Roth IRA means paying taxes now, but potentially enjoying tax-free growth in the future.
Your advisor can run projections to help determine whether a conversion could lower your lifetime tax bill.
- Would Tax-Loss Harvesting Benefit Me This Year?
If some investments in your portfolio have declined, your advisor may suggest tax-loss harvesting — strategically selling investments at a loss to offset gains elsewhere and potentially reduce your taxable income.
This strategy can be powerful, but it’s important to observe wash-sale rules and ensure it fits your overall investment plan. Your advisor can help evaluate whether it’s worth implementing before year-end.
- Do My Charitable Contributions Qualify for a Deduction?
The end of the year is a natural time to align your giving with your financial plan. Charitable contributions made to qualified organizations or donor-advised funds may be deductible if you itemize.
If you’re age 70½ or older, you can also make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) directly from your IRA — a tax-efficient way to fulfill required minimum distributions while supporting causes you care about.
Your advisor and tax professional can help you decide which giving approach best matches your goals and maximizes your impact.
- What Should My Strategy Be for Stock Options?
If your compensation includes stock options or restricted stock units (RSUs), timing matters. Reviewing your plan now can help you decide whether to exercise options in 2025 or 2026. Market performance, company outlook, and your income-tax situation all factor into this decision.
Discuss with your advisor:
- How will exercising options affect my tax bracket?
- Should I wait until next year, or act now?
How can I integrate this with my investment and cash-flow strategy?
- Do I Need to Plan for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)?
Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, the RMD age increased to 73, with another rise to 75 in 2033. If you’re nearing that age or already taking RMDs, review your withdrawal schedule before December 31 to ensure compliance.
Also note: Beginning 2024, Roth 401(k) accounts are no longer subject to RMDs — a change worth discussing with your advisor if you hold both traditional and Roth accounts.
Proper RMD planning helps you stay tax-efficient and aligned with your income needs in retirement.
- What’s the Latest on Student Loan Repayment and Relief?
Federal student loan rules have continued to evolve through 2025. The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan remains available to many borrowers, offering more favorable income-driven repayment terms. However, several forgiveness provisions are still being challenged or refined.
If you or a family member has student debt, your advisor can help you understand how repayment options fit within your overall budget, savings goals, and tax strategy — and how to prepare for any further policy changes in 2026.
- Should I Review My Estate Plan?
Major life events — marriage, divorce, a new child, or loss of a loved one — are all reasons to revisit your estate plan. Even if nothing has changed, a year-end review ensures your documents still reflect your wishes.
Keep in mind: The federal estate-tax exemption is scheduled to be cut roughly in half in 2026 unless Congress acts. Discuss with your advisor and estate attorney whether you should make gifts or trust updates before that happens.
Review beneficiary designations, trustee appointments, powers of attorney, and health-care directives annually to ensure everything remains current and coordinated.
Plan Well. Be Well.
Financial wellness isn’t only about year-end checklists — it’s about living intentionally with your money throughout each season of life. An annual planning meeting offers the clarity to align your resources with your values and priorities.
If you’d like personalized guidance as you prepare for 2026, we’d be happy to help.
Schedule a complimentary consultation with Hawekotte Financial Group
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This material is for general informational purposes and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Please consult a qualified tax preparer, professional advisor, or attorney for guidance specific to your situation.