Pre-Retirement Webinars

Advance planning for retirement can help to ensure a positive retirement experience. In spring 2026, Human Resources hosted presentations on topics of interest to employees starting to think about retiring.

These presentations provide information and resources to help answer some of the questions surrounding planning for retirement, such as:

• What are my health care options when I retire?
• What does Medicare cover and when should I enroll?
• When should I start taking Social Security?
• How can I make the most of my retirement savings?
• When should I start taking my retirement income? What are my withdrawal options?
• What kinds of social and emotional adjustments are involved in retiring?

Information about the webinars and links to recordings of the sessions are included below:

Using My Total Rewards & my FiTage Tools

Boston University faculty and staff who are regular employees and work at least 50% of a full-time schedule have access to the Boston University Total Rewards Portal.  This online statement provides you with personalized information on your total compensation and benefits so you may learn more about your Total Rewards package from the University all in one place.

In addition, your Total Rewards statement includes access to the retirement readiness tool called myFiTage. This tool utilizes your personal data, financial and lifestyle goals, and savings behavior to determine the age at which your resources are expected to cover your expenses in retirement, called your Financial Independence Target Age, or in short, your FiT Age!

Planning for Medicare

If you’re getting close to Medicare eligibility, this seminar is for you. Whether you are planning to retire or will continue to work, it’s important to know your Medicare options. Did you know that missing your Medicare enrollment deadlines could cost you money? We know that Medicare can be confusing, so we designed this webinar to help you be confident you’re making the right health coverage decisions.

Using the MaxiFi Financial Planning Tool to Plan Your Retirement

MaxiFi is a full, lifetime financial planning tool that determines how much to spend and save each year as well as how much life insurance to hold each year to ensure your family has the most stable possible living standard without putting you into debt. MaxiFi Standard also robo-optimizes your plan. It suggests Social Security benefit collection, retirement account benefit withdrawal, and retirement account annuitization strategies to maximize your lifetime spending.

Developed by Laurence Kotlikoff, Professor of Economics at Boston University, MaxiFi software is available free to BU employees. In this session, Professor Kotlikoff offers a demo of the software and explains how it can help you with planning your retirement.

Psychological Readiness for Retirement:  Are You Prepared?

Beyond finances, what are the important issues to think about in deciding when to retire? What kinds of social and emotional adjustments are involved in retiring? What has research shown are the most significant determinants of satisfaction in retirement? What steps can I take now to prepare for a successful transition to this next stage of life?  In this session, Director of BU’s Faculty & Staff Assistance Office, Karen Brouhard, LICSW, discusses these questions and more.

Additional retirement resources are also available via the FSAO for BU employees.

If you have questions, please contact the HR Service Center at hr@bu.edu or call 617-353-2380.