You can authorize a professional or a trusted individual to access or act on your account — here's how, and what each level of authorization allows.

Retired.com supports a few distinct types of third-party access, each with a different scope of authority. Contact the Service Team to set up any of them — third-party access changes require identity verification and signed authorization documents, so they can't be self-served entirely online.

A Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) is a financial professional or firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or a state securities regulator to provide investment guidance. Granting RIA access typically allows the advisor to view your account and, depending on the authorization you sign, place trades or investment directions on your behalf. An RIA does not change who is responsible for IRS compliance on the account — that responsibility stays with you as the account holder.

A Power of Attorney (POA) is a legal document that authorizes another person to act on your behalf. Retired.com requires a copy of the executed POA document before granting access, and the scope of what the POA-holder can do on your account is limited to what the document itself authorizes. A general POA and a POA limited to financial matters may grant different levels of access — Retired.com's Service Team reviews the document to determine what it permits.

You can also authorize a family member, accountant, or other trusted individual for limited purposes, such as viewing statements or discussing account activity with the Service Team. This level of access does not permit investment directions or distributions unless separately authorized.

Granting access to someone does not exempt your account from IRS rules. If the person you authorize is a disqualified person — for example, a family member covered under Internal Revenue Code §4975 — transactions they direct on your behalf are still subject to the same prohibited-transaction rules as if you directed them yourself. See "Disqualified persons — who counts and why". We recommend consulting a tax advisor or attorney before authorizing a family member to direct investments on your account.

Can my RIA place trades without my approval each time?
This depends on the authorization you sign. A "discretionary" authorization allows the RIA to place trades without contacting you each time; a "non-discretionary" authorization requires your approval for each transaction.

Does granting POA access make the POA-holder responsible for compliance issues?
No. As the account holder, you remain responsible for ensuring transactions comply with IRS rules, regardless of who directs them. See "Your responsibilities vs. Retired.com's and Digital Trust's responsibilities".

How do I revoke a third party's access?
Contact the Service Team. Revocation typically takes effect immediately once verified, though any transactions already in process may still complete.

Select "Start a Conversation" from the Chat menu or call us at 1-800-RETIRED