Retirement Planning
401(k), IRA, Roth accounts, pension plans, withdrawal strategies, required minimum distributions, and how much you need to retire.
Latest in Retirement Planning
About 205,000 workers have been laid off in 2026, and a severance check can be rolled into an IRA to defer taxes
With roughly 205,000 American workers laid off in 2026 as automation reshapes office work, a severance check has become a rare planning opportunity as much...
A cash-value life insurance policy can be borrowed against tax-free while you are still alive
A permanent life insurance policy that has built up cash value can be tapped through a loan without generating a tax bill, a feature that...
Borrowing from a 401(k) skips taxes and penalties, but leaving your job can make the whole loan due fast
A worker who borrows from a 401(k) can pull out tens of thousands of dollars without triggering income tax or the 10 percent early-withdrawal penalty,...
Treasury bills can pay retirees more than a big-bank savings account, with no state tax
A retiree parking cash in a savings account at one of the biggest national banks is likely earning almost nothing, often a fraction of a...
Retiring before 59½? Equal periodic payments under IRS rule 72(t) let you tap an IRA without the 10% penalty
Reaching money locked in a retirement account before age 59½ usually means paying a 10% penalty on top of ordinary income tax, a toll designed...
High earners barred from a Roth IRA can still get one through the backdoor
The Roth individual retirement account comes with an income ceiling that shuts out many higher earners, yet the tax code leaves a side entrance open....
A new federal retirement account, TrumpIRA.gov, will offer eligible savers a government match worth up to $1,000 a year
A federal retirement platform called TrumpIRA.gov is scheduled to launch on January 1, 2027, alongside a government match that can deposit up to $1,000 a...
A QLAC lets you move up to about $210,000 out of your IRA and delay required withdrawals
A qualified longevity annuity contract can carve as much as $210,000 out of an individual retirement account, shrink the balance used to calculate required withdrawals,...
A will alone won’t skip probate, and a beneficiary form can override what your will says
Many people assume a will is the final word on where their money goes, but two common misconceptions can send an estate off course. A...
A living trust keeps your home and savings out of probate and out of public court records
A will directs where property goes, but it does so through a public court process that can take months and skim thousands of dollars off...
A Roth IRA never forces withdrawals during your lifetime, unlike a traditional IRA
One rule separates a Roth IRA from nearly every other retirement account: the original owner is never forced to take money out. A traditional IRA,...
Leave your job at 55 or later and you can tap that 401(k) without the 10% early-withdrawal penalty
A quiet provision in the tax code, often called the Rule of 55, lets a worker who leaves an employer in the year they turn...
401(k) hardship withdrawals have hit a record, up 252% since the pandemic as bills eat savings
The share of workers pulling emergency cash out of their 401(k) plans has climbed to a record, a jump that has more than tripled the...
A payable-on-death beneficiary lets a bank account skip probate and reach heirs directly
Naming a payable-on-death beneficiary on a bank account is one of the simplest estate-planning moves available, and one of the most misunderstood. With a short...
Starting in 2027 the government will deposit up to $1,000 a year into low- and middle-income retirement accounts
Beginning in 2027, the federal government will start depositing money directly into the retirement accounts of lower- and middle-income savers, matching what they set aside...
Each Roth conversion starts its own five-year clock before you can withdraw it penalty-free
Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth can trim a future tax bill and hand a saver decades of tax-free growth, but it quietly starts...
Required retirement withdrawals now start at 73, and missing one triggers a steep penalty
The age at which the government forces savers to start emptying their tax-deferred retirement accounts has climbed to 73, giving many workers an extra window...
Heirs must empty an inherited IRA within 10 years, and many now owe a withdrawal each year
Inheriting a parent’s individual retirement account once came with a comfortable pace: an heir could stretch withdrawals across a lifetime and let the balance grow...
Roth 401(k) accounts no longer force required withdrawals during your lifetime
Two retirement accounts that were supposed to serve the same purpose spent years being treated differently, until a change that took effect in 2024 finally...
Trump signed an order clearing the way for 401(k) plans to hold private equity and crypto
A presidential order signed in August 2025 set in motion the biggest potential change to workplace retirement plans in a generation, directing federal regulators to...