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
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The beneficiary form on your IRA overrides your will, and an outdated one can send savings to an ex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...
$8,000 in extra 401(k) catch-up contributions is allowed once you turn 50
Workers who turn 50 by the end of 2026 can stash an additional $8,000 in their 401(k) plans on top of the standard elective deferral...
$24,500 is the 401(k) contribution limit in 2026, and the IRA limit is $7,500
Workers saving for retirement through a 401(k) can set aside up to $24,500 starting January 1, 2026, a $1,000 increase over the $23,500 cap that...
1% in annual 401(k) fees can quietly cost you tens of thousands of dollars over a career
Workers saving for retirement through a 401(k) plan face a persistent, largely invisible drag on their wealth: annual fees that compound year after year. Federal...
Company stock inside a 401(k) can be rolled out so its gains are taxed at lower capital-gains rates
Retiring workers who hold large blocks of their employer’s stock inside a 401(k) face a choice that can shift thousands of dollars between the IRS...
A joint-and-survivor pension keeps paying your spouse after you die, while a single-life payout stops at your death
Retirees covered by a defined-benefit pension face a single decision at retirement that determines whether their spouse will receive any income from that pension after...
Substantially equal withdrawals let you tap an IRA before 59½ penalty-free
Workers who leave a job before age 59½ and need income from a traditional IRA face a steep 10% early-withdrawal penalty on top of ordinary...