 It can save you thousands of dollars in tax over your lifetime. In the year you retire, what are some tax planning strategies to have on your radar? First, max out your 401k. People often overlook this because they aren't working the entire year. Maybe you're retiring halfway through the year and you're just keeping your contribution rate at 10%. The problem is, this is your last year ever to fund a 401k. So do the math, see what you need to shift your contribution percentage to in order to max it out in this last year of work and do so.