What Should Columbus, OH Retirees and Pre-Retirees Do Before December 31?

What Should Columbus Retirees and Pre-Retirees Do Before December 31?

Quick Answer

If you’re retired or within about ten years of retiring in Columbus, a few planning moves have to be finished by the end of the calendar year. Here’s what I’d review:

• Look at your Medicare plan before open enrollment closes on December 7.
• Take any required minimum distribution (RMD) by December 31.
• Decide whether a partial Roth conversion makes sense this year.
• If you’re 70½ or older, consider giving to charity straight from your IRA.
• Use your catch-up contributions through your final December paycheck.
• Check where your 2026 income lands against the Medicare surcharge (IRMAA) thresholds.

Most of these can’t be redone once January 1 arrives.

Key Takeaways

• Medicare open enrollment runs October 15 – December 7, 2026. Plan formularies and networks change every year.
• RMDs generally start at age 73. Missing one can bring an excise tax.
• Roth conversions count in the year they’re completed, so December 31 is the deadline for 2026.
• The 2026 qualified charitable distribution (QCD) limit is $111,000 per person, and a QCD counts toward your RMD.
• Workers ages 60–63 can make an $11,250 catch-up contribution in 2026, up from the standard $8,000.
• Your 2026 income determines your 2028 Medicare premiums through IRMAA’s two-year lookback.

Table of Contents

1. Why does year-end matter more once you’re near retirement?
2. Should you review your Medicare plan before December 7?
3. Have you taken your required minimum distribution?
4. Is 2026 a good year for a Roth conversion?
5. How can you give to charity more tax-efficiently this year?
6. Are you using your catch-up contributions?
7. How does this year’s income affect your future Medicare premiums?
8. Frequently Asked Questions

Why Does Year-End Matter More Once You’re Near Retirement?

While you’re working, most tax planning happens automatically through payroll. Near or in retirement, you have more control over how much income shows up on your return each year, and December 31 is a hard cutoff for most of those choices. An RMD skipped, a conversion left undone, or a charitable gift made the wrong way usually can’t be fixed in January.

2026 also brings changes for Central Ohio households:

• Ohio’s flat tax: Ohio moved to a flat 2.75% income tax.
• Senior deduction: a new federal deduction of up to $6,000 per person for taxpayers 65 and older is in effect through 2028. It shrinks once modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) passes $75,000 (single) or $150,000 (married filing jointly).
• Social Security: benefits rise 3.6% in January 2027.

Taken together, this is a year where it pays to look at your income on purpose rather than by default.

If you’re an Ohio public employee, my guide What Should OPERS and STRS Employees Know Before Retirement? is a good companion to this checklist.

Should You Review Your Medicare Plan Before December 7?

Yes, even if you liked your plan this year. Medicare Advantage and Part D plans can change premiums, drug formularies, and provider networks every year. That matters in Columbus, where retirees often want to stay with OhioHealth, Mount Carmel, or Ohio State Wexner Medical Center doctors.

What I suggest:

• Read your plan’s Annual Notice of Change.
• Re-run your prescriptions through Medicare.gov’s Plan Finder.
• Confirm your doctors are still in network for 2027.

Ohio’s free, unbiased counseling program, OSHIIP (Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program), can also walk through plan comparisons with you.

If you’re retiring from OPERS or STRS, work out how your retiree health coverage fits with Medicare before you change anything.

Have You Taken Your Required Minimum Distribution?

If you’re 73 or older and have traditional IRA or old 401(k) money, your 2026 RMD generally has to be out of the account by December 31.

• First RMD: you can delay it until April 1, 2027. The catch is that you’d then take two distributions in 2027, which can push you into a higher bracket.
• Inherited IRAs: if you inherited an IRA after 2019, annual distributions may now be required within the 10-year window, depending on whether the original owner had started RMDs.
• Timing: ask your custodian for its year-end processing deadlines. They often fall well before December 31.

Is 2026 a Good Year for a Roth Conversion?

For many recent retirees, the years between leaving work and starting Social Security or RMDs are the lowest-income years they’ll have. A partial Roth conversion, meaning moving money from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA and paying tax now, can fill a lower bracket on purpose instead of leaving that room unused.

A conversion must be completed by December 31 to count for 2026, and it can’t be undone. Before converting, I look at three things:

• Federal bracket: how much room is left in your current bracket.
• Senior deduction: the conversion raises MAGI, which can reduce the new deduction.
• IRMAA: 2026 income sets your 2028 Medicare premiums (more on this below).

Ohio’s flat 2.75% rate keeps the state side of the math simpler than it used to be.

How Can You Give to Charity More Tax-Efficiently This Year?

If you’re 70½ or older: a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) lets you send up to $111,000 in 2026 straight from your IRA to a qualifying charity. The gift is left out of your taxable income entirely, and once you’re 73 it can count toward your RMD.

• The check has to go directly from the IRA to the charity.
• Donor-advised funds aren’t eligible.

If you don’t itemize: starting in 2026, you can deduct up to $1,000 (single) or $2,000 (married filing jointly) in cash gifts to qualified charities.

If you do itemize: a new floor means only charitable gifts above 0.5% of your AGI are deductible.

For Columbus households that give to the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, their church, or their alma mater, the right method can matter as much as the size of the gift.

Are You Using Your Catch-Up Contributions?

For pre-retirees, the 2026 limits for 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) plans are:

Contributions usually have to come out of your last 2026 paycheck, so check your payroll settings now.

Two details matter for Central Ohio workers:

• Roth catch-ups for higher earners: if your 2025 FICA wages from your employer were above $150,000, your 2026 catch-up contributions must go in as Roth.
• Public employees: a 457(b) plan such as Ohio Deferred Compensation has its own separate limit, so OPERS and STRS members who also have a 403(b) may be able to contribute to both.

IRA contributions for 2026 can still be made until the April 2027 filing deadline.

How Does This Year’s Income Affect Your Future Medicare Premiums?

Medicare’s Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) looks back two years. Your 2026 income sets your 2028 Part B and Part D premiums.

• 2026 thresholds: the surcharge starts above $109,000 (single) or $218,000 (married filing jointly) of MAGI.
• 2027 premiums: CMS hasn’t announced the standard Part B premium for 2027 yet. Social Security says it will appear in my Social Security accounts starting in late November.

A Roth conversion, a large capital gain, or a final-year bonus can push you over a threshold by a single dollar. I usually look at where income lands before December 31, not after.

If you retired in 2026 and your income dropped, you may be able to ask Social Security to use your lower current income (Form SSA-44, life-changing event) instead of your income from two years ago.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deadline to take an RMD in 2026?
Generally December 31, 2026. The one exception is your first RMD, which can be delayed until April 1, 2027.

Can I undo a Roth conversion if I change my mind?
No. Recharacterizations were eliminated in 2018, so a conversion is permanent once it’s completed.

Does a QCD count toward my required minimum distribution?
Yes. Once you’re subject to RMDs, a QCD made directly to a qualifying charity counts toward that year’s requirement and is excluded from your taxable income.

When does Medicare open enrollment end in 2026?
December 7, 2026. Changes you make take effect January 1, 2027.

How much will Social Security increase in 2027?
Social Security announced a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment beginning with January 2027 benefits.

Do I need a financial advisor for year-end planning?
Not necessarily. Many of these decisions affect each other, though. A Roth conversion, for example, can change your Medicare premiums and your senior deduction at the same time. As a fee-only fiduciary, I don’t earn commissions on products, so my focus is on how the pieces fit together for you.

Let’s Review Your Year-End Plan Together

If you’re a pre-retiree or retiree in Columbus, Upper Arlington, Dublin, Worthington, or anywhere in Central Ohio and want a second set of eyes before December 31, I’d be glad to help. I work with clients as a fee-only fiduciary, with no commissions and no products to sell.

— Jim Blue, CFP®, Blue Advisors | Columbus, Ohio

Disclosure: This article is provided by Blue Advisory LLC d/b/a Blue Advisors, a registered investment adviser, for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. All figures are illustrative, are based on information available as of November 2026, and are subject to change. Tax laws are complex and change frequently; consult a qualified tax professional regarding your specific situation. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training.