Retirement, Credit, and Estate Planning

This unit guides students through managing retirement accounts and distributions, protecting and rebuilding credit, and designing basic estate plans that reduce probate and preserve assets. It builds on foundational budgeting and saving skills from earlier units and prepares learners to implement comprehensive financial protection strategies in the capstone unit.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze retirement-account management and distribution strategies by calculating the effects of IRA rollovers, transfers, required minimum distributions, withdrawals, and reverse-mortgage considerations on long-term savings given demographic and tax scenarios.
• Evaluate and compare estate-planning instruments (wills, living trusts, beneficiary designations, joint tenancy, powers of attorney) and create a simple critical-path estate-plan outline that minimizes probate exposure and aligns with stated client goals.
• Apply consumer protection and credit-repair procedures to identify and document inaccurate credit-report information, file disputes, respond to identity theft, and follow lawful steps to rebuild credit and handle debt collectors.
• Demonstrate the selection and use of financial professionals, online banking tools, insurance coverages, and document-safeguarding practices by preparing a written justification and action plan that protects assets and supports ongoing financial management.