While it’s easy to get lost in the latest headlines, now is a good time to take action so that your retirement savings are working as hard as possible for you. By following this checklist, you can improve your investment options, lower your fees, reduce future taxes, and better organize your finances for long-term security.

Have a retirement plan ‘reunion’

When financial planners start working with clients, one of the first things we request are the latest statements from all their investment accounts. Some clients easily provide updated reports, while others struggle to track them down. Even after working with us for years, some clients still remember an old account they forgot about.

A former colleague called this the “weed garden” — small, forgotten accounts acquired over a series of career moves. With average job tenure perhaps shorter than ever, you don’t need to be that old to have a weed garden. These accounts are rarely monitored and may be invested in archaic, high-cost funds. Years from now those accounts may be completely forgotten. If you have multiple accounts scattered across various employers or financial institutions, now is the time to gather up those statements. This may require a little digging into your work history, but once you have those statements, you’re ready to take the next step.

Consider consolidating your accounts

While everyone’s financial situation is unique, in general there is little reason have more than a few retirement accounts. If you’re working for an employer with a retirement plan, you’ll want to keep that account open as you’re contributing to them and hopefully receiving an employer match.

What about your older accounts? Taking a step back, know that while there are many varieties of retirement accounts, most of them fall into one of two camps — pre-tax and tax-free. In most cases your pre-tax retirement account balances can be moved directly without paying any tax into a traditional IRA or your current retirement plan. The same is true for your tax-free retirement accounts (also called Roth accounts) that may be rolled into a Roth IRA or retirement plan.

With both pre-tax and tax-free accounts, you need to contact the investment company of the old plan that you want to move. Your current retirement plan could be a good target for those funds if it has several low-cost diversified investment choices. If you want more investment choices or work with a financial adviser that manages your accounts, you may favor a traditional IRA (pre-tax) or Roth IRA (tax-free). Inherited accounts are not as easy to consolidate, make sure you consult a professional before moving them.

Make the right tax election — for most, that’s a Roth

When we look at tax rates over the last few decades, you can see they are currently historically low. Unless you’re earning a high income now (above the 24% federal tax bracket), think about directing your retirement savings into tax-free accounts (Roth) rather than pre-tax. In doing so, you’re electing to pay taxes at low rates now to get tax-free investment growth and distributions later when you need the money.

Are your investments still the right fit?

Retirement accounts change over time with investment options being added and dropped. Look at your retirement accounts. Are they invested in low-cost investment funds? If you have holdings in high-cost investments, know why you’re making this choice as there’s a correlation with low costs and investment performance.

It’s also a good time to reassess the risk level in your portfolio. Given the stock market’s strong performance recently, your asset allocation might have shifted, becoming more aggressive than intended. Consider rebalancing your portfolio to bring it back in line with your original investment strategy. If you’re not sure how to invest your retirement funds, a good starting point can be a target retirement fund with the year closest to your projected retirement date.

Older workers can boost their contributions

In 2025, a new benefit for workers aged 60 to 63 will go into effect under the Secure 2.0 Act. These workers will be able to contribute an additional $3,750 to their 401(k) for a total contribution limit of $34,750 (compared to $23,500 for those under 50, and $31,000 for those 50 and over). If you’re nearing retirement age, this “Super Catch-Up” provision can be a valuable opportunity to boost your retirement savings in the final years before retirement.

David Gardner is a certified financial planner and is admitted to practice before the IRS. He recently retired from an independent investment advisory firm and continues to write about financial topics.