California · ages 25 to 95
Guides and tools for Californians planning their money, and a licensed financial advisor who specializes in California residents when you want one.
Places you on the line and moves the ages that depend on when you were born. Stays in this page; nothing is sent.
The ages that change your money in California, on one line.
Social Security, Medicare, retirement accounts and a few rules only California has all switch on at set ages. Pick a marker to read what changes and why it matters.
Retirement accounts
California rules
Social Security
Health cover
The early-withdrawal tax ends
After 59½ the 10% additional tax on early withdrawals from IRAs and workplace plans no longer applies. Withdrawals from pre-tax accounts are still ordinary income. Roth earnings also need the account to be at least five years old to come out tax-free.
Fixed age in current rules
Source: IRS
The early-withdrawal tax ends
After 59½ the 10% additional tax on early withdrawals from IRAs and workplace plans no longer applies. Withdrawals from pre-tax accounts are still ordinary income. Roth earnings also need the account to be at least five years old to come out tax-free.
Talk to an advisor about thisFixed age in current rules
Source: IRS
How it works
Three stops to a matched advisor
Answer a few questions
Where you live, what you need help with, and ranges for your money. Four short steps.
We review and contact you
We review your answers and contact you to confirm what you need.
We match you with an advisor
We match you with a licensed financial advisor who specializes in California residents. You decide what happens next.
California differences
Where the state parts ways with federal rules
Four rules that change a plan the moment you live here.
Social Security is not taxed by the state
California leaves Social Security benefits out of state income. Part can still be taxed federally.
Source: California Franchise Tax BoardTalk to an advisor about this
Health savings accounts get no state break
California does not follow the federal treatment of HSAs. Contributions and account earnings are taxable on your California return.
Source: California Franchise Tax BoardTalk to an advisor about this
No state deduction for 529 contributions
Money you put into a 529 college plan, including California’s own ScholarShare 529, is not deductible on your state return. Ask how K–12 and loan-repayment withdrawals are treated: California does not follow every federal change.
Source: California Franchise Tax BoardTalk to an advisor about this
Your property-tax base follows the purchase
Under Proposition 13 a home’s assessed value rises by at most 2% a year until it changes hands or is newly built on. At 55 or older, Proposition 19 lets you move that base to a replacement home.
Source: California State Board of EqualizationTalk to an advisor about this
Tools
Run your own numbers
They run in your browser. Nothing you type is sent.
The life-stage roadmap
Every age on the line above, full size, with your birth year applied.
Social Security starting ages
Your monthly amount at 62, at full retirement age and at 70, and the age each choice pulls ahead.
Asset-based fee or flat fee
What a percentage fee and a flat yearly fee cost on your balance over the years you choose.
Roadmap Stops
Before you hire a planner
How planners are paid, what their letters mean and what a written plan should hold. All 10 guides
Choosing an Advisor
Fee-Only vs. Commission-Based Financial Planners
How your planner gets paid shapes what they recommend. Here is the real difference between fee-only and commission-based compensation, and why it matters more than the label on the business card.
Choosing an Advisor
Fiduciary Duty Explained: What It Actually Means for Your Planner
“Fiduciary” gets used loosely in advertising. Here is what the legal standard actually requires, who it applies to, and the exact question to ask before you hire anyone.
Credentials
CFP vs. Other Financial Certifications: What Each One Signals
CFP, CFA, ChFC, CPA/PFS: the letters on a planner’s business card each verify something different. Here is what each credential actually requires and what it tells you.
Choosing an Advisor
Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Financial Planner
A practical checklist of the questions that reveal how a planner is compensated, what they’re actually licensed to do, and whether their typical client looks anything like you.
Advisor Relationships
Red Flags in Financial Advisor Relationships
Guaranteed returns, rushed paperwork, and vague answers about fees are warning signs, not quirks. Here is how to spot trouble early and verify a planner’s background before you sign anything.
Choosing an Advisor
Robo-Advisors vs. Human Planners for California Residents
Algorithmic portfolios are cheap and competent at what they do. The question for most Californians isn’t which is “better”: it’s how much complexity your situation actually has.
Find an advisor
Get matched with an advisor who specializes in California residents
Answer a few short questions. We review your answers, contact you to confirm what you need, and match you with a licensed financial advisor who specializes in California residents.
- Answer a few questions. Ranges are fine for money.
- We review your answers and contact you to confirm what you need.
- We match you with a licensed financial advisor who specializes in California residents.
This website is an educational publisher. It does not give personalized advice, recommend securities or manage money. Asking to be matched does not create an advisory relationship: any relationship is between you and the advisor, who will give you their own disclosures before you decide anything. Licensed financial advisors join our network to receive introductions and may pay us for them, through a monthly membership and a fee for each request. The fee does not depend on whether you hire an advisor and is not higher or lower for any particular advisor. Because advisors may pay us, we have a financial interest in the introductions we make. We match you by what you need, and being matched is not a recommendation or rating of any advisor. Nothing here is investment advice.