10 Retirement Account Mistakes People Can’t Fix Later

Planning for retirement is a complicated process, and it requires attention to detail that many miss. If you make a big mistake in one of your accounts, it can be hard — if not impossible — to reverse. That means you miss out on the critical compounding interest that gives you the capital needed to have a stress-free retirement.

Here are 10 irreversible mistakes people make with their retirement accounts.

Converting your account to a Roth IRA means you'll pay taxes now, but you'll get tax-free withdrawals later, which can be great for massive investment growth later on. However, changes in tax laws or income levels can complicate matters.

If you convert too much at once, you'll have a higher taxable income, and there's no way to get that money back.

If you pull money from your 401(k) or similar account before the age of 59 1/2, you'll trigger an IRS penalty of 10% in addition to the withdrawal counting as taxable income.

That extra payment to the federal government can't be clawed back, so you're permanently lowering your growth potential.

The IRS allows for "catch-up" contributions for individuals age 50 and over, so you can put in an additional $7,500 into eligible retirement accounts. Over the course of a decade, that's a whopping $75,000 of extra money that could be growing in your account.

Even one missed year during that timeframe can be a missed opportunity that you don't get back.

You have a narrow window after leaving a job to rollover your 401(k) into an IRA. If you miss that, you only have 60 days to correct it before the IRS treats it as a withdrawal, and you'll have to pay the 10% penalty.

Depending on the size of your account, that's a significant chunk of money that you don't get back.

Depending on your pension plan, you'll have multiple distribution options. Once you make a choice, it's usually irrevocable once you file the paperwork. That means choosing incorrectly could permanently reduce your annual income and potentially affect your spouse's and heirs' as well.

Careful modeling and projections are critical before making the distribution choice.

It's possible to take out a loan against your company's 401(k), but you have to repay it after you leave the company. If you fail to repay the loan by the tax filing deadline, the IRS will consider it a distribution, and it will be taxed as regular income, in addition to the 10% early withdrawal penalty if you're under 59 1/2.

Once you reach the age of 73 (or 75 for future generations), you have to withdraw a certain percentage of your retirement accounts annually. If you fail to do so, the IRS imposes a stiff penalty.

That means if you forget to make the RMD, you'll permanently lose money since you'll have to pay the penalty. There's no way to make it up, and you need to hit your RMD target before the end of the calendar year, not right before tax season.

Having a robust set of investments in your retirement accounts is the best way to handle any market volatility. If you have too much in one company, you risk losing big if the stock plummets.

Had you overinvested in a company like Enron in the early 2000s, your portfolio would have dropped massively, costing you greatly, with no way to recoup the loss.

Certain transactions can trigger IRS penalties on your IRA and eliminate its tax protections. If you or a disqualified person (like a spouse, child, or beneficiary) engages in a prohibited transaction (such as buying or selling property with your IRA, providing services, or self-dealing), the IRS treats the entire account as distributed, making it taxable that year.

Even simple actions, like repairing a faucet at an IRA-owned property, can count, so proceed carefully.

Any time you make a nondeductible contribution to your traditional IRA, you need to file Form 8606 with the IRS to track your "basis" for the portion of the account you already paid taxes on. If you don't file this form or lose track of these records, the IRS will assume your future withdrawals are 100% taxable.

This results in what is essentially a "double tax" when you begin to withdraw from the account, and there's no reversing that.

Retirement accounts are powerful, but many mistakes are permanent once deadlines pass. One wrong move can cost you tens of thousands in taxes or lost growth you'll never get back. In 2021 alone, 2.8 million taxpayers took $12.9 billion in early distributions without filing correctly, potentially owing $1.29 billion in taxes and $322 million in penalties.

If you want to be well-prepared for retirement, don't let that happen: vigilance, documentation, and professional advice matter.