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
$2,000 is what low- and middle-income savers can claim just for funding a retirement account
Workers earning low or moderate incomes can cut their federal tax bill by as much as $1,000 per person, simply by putting money into a...
Roth 401(k) accounts no longer force required withdrawals during your lifetime
Workers with Roth 401(k) accounts gained a permanent tax advantage starting in 2024: they no longer face mandatory annual withdrawals while they are alive. Section...
$8,600 is the new 2026 IRA contribution limit for savers 50 and older
Savers aged 50 and older can now set aside up to $8,600 in an individual retirement account starting in 2026, a combined total that reflects...
$24,500 is the new 2026 401(k) contribution limit, up from $23,500
The IRS has raised the standard 401(k) employee contribution limit for 2026 to $24,500, up from $23,500 in 2025. That extra $1,000 of tax-advantaged space...
$44,115 is the new median 401(k) balance, up 27% in a year
American workers with 401(k) accounts saw their median balance climb to $44,115, a 27% jump from one year earlier, according to widely cited industry data....
Workers and employers now save a record 14.4% of pay into 401(k)s
American workers and their employers are now directing a combined 14.4 percent of pay into 401(k) accounts, a figure that represents the highest combined savings...
6% of Vanguard savers took a hardship withdrawal last year, triple the pre-pandemic rate
Six percent of Vanguard retirement savers took a hardship withdrawal last year, triple the rate recorded before the pandemic. That figure, widely cited across the...
Workers 60 to 63 can add an extra $11,250 to a 401(k)
Americans between the ages of 60 and 63 can now stash up to $11,250 in extra catch-up contributions inside a 401(k), a benefit that sits...
The beneficiary form on your IRA overrides your will, and an outdated one can send savings to an ex
A single form filed years ago with a brokerage or retirement plan administrator can override every instruction in a person’s last will and testament. When...
The average retirement account holds $167,970, but the typical one holds just $44,115
Most Americans saving for retirement through a 401(k) hold far less than the headline number suggests. Vanguard’s review of 4.6 million participant accounts found an...
A revocable living trust passes your home and accounts to heirs without the cost and delay of probate.
Families who lose a loved one often discover that a home, bank accounts, and other assets cannot be touched for months while a probate court...
Search the PBGC database for a pension from an employer whose plan shut down.
When a company shutters its pension plan, the promise of a monthly check can seem to vanish with it. For many workers, the Pension Benefit...
Converting some IRA money to a Roth in the low-income years before age 73 shrinks the required withdrawals later.
Retirees with large traditional IRA balances face a predictable tax squeeze once they turn 73 and mandatory withdrawals begin. Those forced distributions, calculated by dividing...
Inherit an IRA and you must usually empty it within 10 years, which can spike your taxes.
Americans who inherit a traditional IRA from a parent, sibling, or other non-spouse relative now face a hard clock: the entire account balance must be...
55 is the age when you can leave a job and pull money from that employer’s 401(k) without the early-withdrawal penalty.
Workers who leave a job at 55 or older can pull money from that employer’s 401(k) without paying the 10% early-withdrawal penalty that normally applies...
A new federal database, the Retirement Savings Lost and Found, helps workers track down forgotten 401(k)s.
Workers who changed jobs over the past decade and left old 401(k) balances behind now have a federal tool designed to help them reconnect with...
Retirees in the lowest brackets can pay 0% federal tax on long-term capital gains
Retired couples filing jointly can sell appreciated stocks or mutual funds held longer than a year and owe zero federal tax on the profit, provided...
$1,000, or $2,000 per couple, comes back through the Saver’s Credit for funding a retirement account
Low- and middle-income workers who put money into a retirement account can reclaim up to $1,000 on their federal tax return, or $2,000 for a...
$35,000 can move from a 529 college plan into the beneficiary’s Roth IRA over time
Families with leftover 529 college savings can now shift up to $35,000 into a beneficiary’s Roth IRA, but only if the account has been open...
A nonworking spouse can still fund an IRA using the working spouse’s income
Married couples with a single income stream can double their annual IRA savings by using the earner’s wages to fund a separate account for the...