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
Money you put into a Roth IRA can be withdrawn anytime, tax- and penalty-free
Anyone who has contributed to a Roth IRA holds a financial advantage that many account holders still do not fully grasp: the money they put...
An unpaid 401(k) loan turns into a taxable withdrawal, plus a 10% penalty if you’re under 59½
Workers who borrow from their 401(k) plans and fail to repay on schedule face an immediate tax hit: the entire unpaid balance is reclassified as...
Skipping your employer’s 401(k) match leaves free money on the table, often thousands of dollars a year
Workers who skip their employer’s 401(k) match forfeit one of the most direct paths to building retirement savings, often leaving thousands of dollars unclaimed each...
After 70½ you can send over $100,000 a year from an IRA straight to charity, tax-free
IRA holders who have reached age 70½ can direct up to $100,000 per taxable year straight from their retirement accounts to charity and exclude the...
Anyone 50 or older can add an extra $1,000 to an IRA each year
Workers aged 50 and older can stash an extra $1,000 per year in a traditional or Roth IRA on top of the standard contribution cap,...
The beneficiary form on your 401(k) overrides your will
A single form buried in an employer’s HR portal can override years of estate planning. When a 401(k) account holder dies, the retirement plan’s beneficiary...
Converting part of a traditional IRA to a Roth in a low-income year can cut the lifetime tax on your savings
Retirees and pre-retirees who experience a temporary drop in earnings, whether from a job change, a gap year, or an early retirement transition, face a...
Workers aged 60 to 63 can add $11,250 to a 401(k) this year
Americans turning 60, 61, 62, or 63 this calendar year can now stash $11,250 in catch-up contributions to their 401(k) plans, a figure that exceeds...
A non-working spouse can still fund a $7,500 IRA
Married couples filing jointly can double their retirement savings even when one spouse earns nothing. Under a longstanding but widely overlooked provision of the tax...
Lower- and middle-income savers can claim up to $1,000 back, double for couples, just for funding a retirement account
Workers earning lower and middle incomes can collect up to $1,000 from the federal government, or $2,000 for married couples filing jointly, simply by putting...
The federal pension agency is holding unclaimed money for tens of thousands who never collected a pension they earned
Tens of thousands of Americans have earned pension benefits they have never collected, and the federal agency responsible for safeguarding those benefits is sitting on...
Heirs who inherit an IRA usually have just 10 years to empty the account
Millions of Americans who stand to inherit a traditional or Roth IRA from a parent, sibling, or other non-spouse relative face a hard deadline that...
Money pulled from a traditional IRA after age 59½ avoids the 10% early-withdrawal penalty
Americans turning 59½ gain a concrete financial advantage on their next traditional IRA withdrawal: the 10% early-distribution penalty no longer applies. The rule, codified in...
You can pull the money you contributed to a Roth IRA at any time, with no taxes and no penalty
Anyone who has set money aside in a Roth IRA holds a built-in safety valve that most retirement savers overlook: the dollars they personally contributed...
Americans have left $2.1 trillion sitting in 31.9 million forgotten 401(k)s, and a free government database now finds yours
Roughly 31.9 million 401(k) accounts holding about $2.1 trillion in assets have been left behind by American workers who switched jobs, retired, or simply lost...
You have until next April’s filing deadline — not December 31 — to fund an IRA for this year
Many savers still rush to move money into their individual retirement accounts before December 31, worried that the chance to cut their tax bill disappears...
Lower-income workers can claim up to $1,000 back for funding a retirement account
Millions of lower-income Americans who save for retirement are leaving free money on the table. A federal tax credit worth up to $1,000 per individual,...
Locked-out high earners can still fund a Roth IRA through the backdoor
High earners who make too much to contribute directly to a Roth IRA still have a clear path into one, and the stakes for getting...
Money you put into a Roth IRA, but not the earnings, can come back out anytime tax and penalty free
Savers who contribute to a Roth IRA hold a withdrawal advantage that most other retirement accounts do not offer: the dollars they put in can...
The beneficiary form on your 401(k) overrides your will — an outdated one can send your savings to an ex
The paperwork attached to a retirement account often determines who gets the money more powerfully than any will. For 401(k)s and IRAs, the beneficiary designation...