Just finished my annual retirement account checkup, and I’m happy to report I’m still on track. But getting to “on track” requires actually sitting down once a year and reviewing everything—something most people skip. According to Vanguard, only 32% of retirement savers do an annual review, which means two-thirds of people are flying blind.
I’ve been doing comprehensive annual reviews for five years now, and the peace of mind is worth the two hours it takes. Here’s my exact checklist that you can use for your own review.
1. Confirm You’re Contributing Enough
Check Your Contribution Rate
Pull up your last few paychecks and verify your 401(k) contribution percentage. For 2026, you can contribute:
- 401(k) limit: $23,500 ($31,000 if 50+)
- IRA limit: $7,000 ($8,000 if 50+)
- Minimum goal: At least enough to get full employer match
- Ideal goal: 15-20% of gross income total
If you got a raise this year and didn’t increase your contribution percentage, you’re leaving money on the table. I bump mine by 1% every January regardless of raises.
Verify Employer Match
Log into your 401(k) and confirm your employer’s match is being deposited correctly. I once discovered my company changed providers mid-year and my match wasn’t being applied for three months—that’s free money I almost lost.
2. Review Asset Allocation
Current vs. Target Allocation
Markets move, and your allocation drifts. Pull up your actual current allocation and compare it to your target. Mine looks like this:
- Target: 70% stocks / 30% bonds
- Actual after 2025: 74% stocks / 26% bonds (stocks outperformed)
- Action needed: Rebalance 4% from stocks to bonds
A general rule: rebalance if you’re more than 5% off target in any asset class.
Age-Appropriate Risk
The old rule was “120 minus your age = stock percentage.” So at 35, you’d hold 85% stocks, 15% bonds. Modern thinking pushes that higher given longer lifespans:
- Age 20-35: 90-100% stocks
- Age 35-50: 80-90% stocks
- Age 50-60: 70-80% stocks
- Age 60+: 50-70% stocks
Target-date funds do this automatically, which is why they’re popular.
3. Audit Your Fees
Expense Ratios
This is where most people are getting quietly robbed. Pull the expense ratio for every fund you own:
- Excellent: Under 0.10%
- Acceptable: 0.10% – 0.30%
- Too high: 0.30% – 0.75%
- Robbery: Above 0.75%
I once found a “growth fund” in my 401(k) charging 1.25%. I switched to a Vanguard total market fund at 0.04% and saved $1,250/year on a $100k balance. That’s real money.
Calculate Total Annual Fees
Multiply your balance by your weighted average expense ratio. If you’ve got $100,000 and an average expense ratio of 0.50%, you’re paying $500/year. Could you get the same performance for 0.10% ($100/year)? Probably.
4. Update Beneficiaries
This takes two minutes and is shockingly important. Life changes:
- Got married? Add spouse as primary beneficiary
- Got divorced? Remove ex-spouse (yes, really—your 401(k) doesn’t automatically update)
- Had kids? Add them as contingent beneficiaries
- Parent died? Update if they were your beneficiary
I review every account—401(k), IRAs, and even old 401(k)s I haven’t rolled over yet. You’d be shocked how many people have ex-spouses as beneficiaries years after divorce.
5. Roll Over Old 401(k)s
If you’ve changed jobs and have old 401(k)s scattered at previous employers, consolidate them. I had three old 401(k)s I finally rolled into one IRA last year, and managing everything got 10x easier.
Benefits of Rolling Over:
- Lower fees (IRAs usually have cheaper fund options)
- More investment choices
- Easier to track and rebalance
- No risk of forgotten accounts
How to Do It:
- Open an IRA at Fidelity, Schwab, or Vanguard
- Request a “direct rollover” (never take the check yourself—taxes!)
- Old custodian transfers directly to new custodian
- Invest the funds once they arrive
6. Project Your Retirement Numbers
Use a retirement calculator to see if you’re on track. I use Fidelity’s free calculator, but there are many:
- Current age: 38
- Retirement age: 65
- Current balance: $245,000
- Annual contribution: $23,500
- Projected at 65: $2.1 million (7% growth assumed)
- Retirement income: $84,000/year (4% withdrawal rule)
If the numbers don’t look good, you’ve got time to adjust. That’s the whole point of the annual review.
7. Set Next Year’s Goals
End your review by setting specific, measurable goals:
- Increase 401(k) contribution from 12% to 15%
- Max out Roth IRA ($7,000 for 2026)
- Reduce expense ratios below 0.10%
- Consolidate old 401(k) from previous employer
- Rebalance to target allocation
My Results
Annual checkup complete, and here’s where I landed:
- ✅ Contribution rate: 15% plus full match
- ✅ Allocation: 4% drift, rebalanced back to target
- ✅ Fees: 0.07% weighted average (down from 0.12%)
- ✅ Beneficiaries: Current and correct
- ✅ On track: Projected $2.1M by age 65
Two hours of work for peace of mind for the next year. Set a calendar reminder right now for your annual review—you’ll thank yourself later.
