Blueprint University

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• 01Health & FitnessCoverage before Medicare, Medicare costs and health savings. · 6 lessons · Explore →
• The ACA Marketplace, Explained: Health Insurance Before Medicare →
  What the ACA guarantees, metal tiers and networks, how the premium tax credit works, and when you can enroll.
• The ACA Subsidy Cliff Is Back: What Early Retirees Need to Know →
  The 400% FPL cliff is back for 2026: what counts toward MAGI, and why Blueprint plans to a 398% buffer.
• Your HSA Is a Retirement Account You're Probably Underusing →
  The triple tax advantage, what changes at 65, and how Blueprint models it for Medicare premiums.
• IRMAA: The Medicare Surcharge Tied to Income From Two Years Ago →
  How the two-year lookback works, and why a Roth conversion today can raise Medicare premiums two years from now.
• Retiring Before 65: How to Bridge the Health Insurance Gap →
  The four main ways to cover health insurance between early retirement and Medicare eligibility, and how to sequence them.
• Long-Term Care: The Risk Medicare Doesn't Cover →
  What long-term care actually costs, and the main ways to plan for it — insurance, hybrid policies, self-funding, or Medicaid.
• 02HousingWhere you live, what it costs, and planning a move or a stay. · 6 lessons · Explore →
• How State Taxes Can Reshape Your Retirement →
  Why two retirees with identical incomes can have very different tax bills depending on where they live, and what to check before relocating.
• Downsizing in Retirement: What It Really Frees Up →
  Selling costs, the home-sale tax exclusion, and what a smaller home really saves each month.
• Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage Before Retiring? →
  The guaranteed return, the liquidity trade-off, and the tax trap of paying it off with IRA money.
• Reverse Mortgages Explained: How a HECM Works →
  Who qualifies, what it costs, how the balance grows, and what happens to your heirs.
• Aging in Place: Budgeting to Stay in Your Home →
  Safety updates, big repairs and paid help at home, and what Medicare won’t pay for.
• Senior Living Costs: Independent Living, Assisted Living and CCRCs →
  Independent living, assisted living and CCRCs, the contract types, and how to plan for the costs.
• 03Travel & EntertainmentTravel budgets, bucket-list trips and coverage abroad. · 6 lessons · Explore →
• How Much Can You Really Spend on Travel in Retirement? →
  Price your normal travel year, plan the bucket-list trips, and test it all against your paycheck.
• The Go-Go Years: Why Front-Loading Travel Can Make Sense →
  Why many retirees spend more on travel early, and how to plan for it.
• Does Medicare Cover You Overseas? →
  What Medicare, Medigap and travel medical insurance do and don’t cover abroad.
• Snowbirding: Rent, Buy or Stay Home? →
  The costs and tax questions of spending part of the year somewhere else.
• Grandkids Trips and Family Travel →
  Planning the trips that matter most, without the guilt.
• Bucket-List Budgeting →
  Paying for the big trip without derailing the plan.
• 04LegacyBeneficiaries, inherited accounts, giving and protecting a survivor. · 4 lessons · Explore →
• Inherited IRAs: The Rules Change Once You're Not the Original Owner →
  The 10-year rule, who's exempt, and how to manage the tax hit on a Traditional vs. Roth inherited account.
• Qualified Charitable Distributions: Give to Charity, Skip the Tax →
  How QCDs let you satisfy RMDs and donate to charity without the withdrawal counting as taxable income.
• The Widow's Tax Trap: When Filing Single Costs More →
  Why a surviving spouse's taxes often jump the year after a spouse's death, and what can be done about it in advance.
• Beneficiary Designations vs. Your Will →
  Why the name on a 401(k) or IRA beneficiary form overrides what your will says, and how to keep the two from contradicting each other.
• BRING IT ALL TOGETHERYour Retirement PaycheckTurning savings into a reliable monthly paycheck. · 11 lessons · Meet the Paycheck Planner →
• Interest Rates and Income Investments →
  How rate moves affect bond, REIT and dividend-stock yields — and why a Blueprint plan doesn't need to react to them.
  Featured in the October 2026 Special Edition Insight
• Your 401(k), After the Paycheck Stops →
  The four real paths for an old 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b) — and how Blueprint treats that balance until it moves.
  Featured in the September 2026 Insight
• What Is Monte Carlo Analysis? →
  How the simulation works, where it breaks down, and why Blueprint uses engine-based guardrails instead of odds.
  Featured in the October 2026 Insight
• When Should You Claim Social Security? →
  The tradeoff between claiming at 62, Full Retirement Age, or 70 — and why breakeven-age math misses the point.
• How to Structure a Monthly Paycheck From Your Savings →
  Income floor, fixed vs. flexible spending, withdrawal order, and why a cash buffer matters.
• RMDs: The Withdrawals the IRS Requires →
  What triggers a Required Minimum Distribution, which accounts are affected, and the penalty for missing one.
• Roth Conversions: Paying Tax Now to (Maybe) Avoid It Later →
  How conversions work, the best years to do them, and what they can cost in ACA subsidies or IRMAA.
• Sequence-of-Returns Risk: Why Order Beats Average →
  Why two retirees with the same average return can end up in completely different places — and how to defend against it.
• Which Account to Draw From First in Retirement →
  Why the traditional "taxable, then Traditional, then Roth" order isn't always optimal, and how bracket-filling can help.
• Annuities Explained: What They Are and Aren't →
  A plain-English look at the main annuity types, what they trade off, and the questions worth asking before buying one.
• Tax-Loss Harvesting: Turning Losses Into Savings →
  How selling investments at a loss can offset gains and reduce your tax bill, and the wash-sale rule that trips people up.