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
Drawing down taxable accounts before tax-deferred ones and Roth last can stretch retirement savings for years — a sequence most retirees get backwards
Picture a married couple, both 65, walking out of their offices for the last time in June 2026. Between them they have $400,000 in a...
Converting part of a traditional IRA to a Roth in a low-income year locks in today’s tax rate — before RMDs and Medicare surcharges hit
A 66-year-old who left a full-time job in late 2025 and plans to delay Social Security until 70 might report only $30,000 in taxable income...
A teenager with a summer job can open a Roth IRA — and a few hundred dollars saved now can grow into six figures of tax-free retirement money
A 16-year-old lifeguard who earns $3,000 between Memorial Day and Labor Day has cleared the only hurdle that matters for opening a Roth IRA: she...
Skipping your full employer 401(k) match throws away an instant 50% to 100% return — yet one in five workers leaves that free money on the table
Every pay period, employers across the country deposit matching dollars into 401(k) accounts, but only if workers contribute enough to trigger them. For someone earning...
Americans have left $1.65 trillion sitting in forgotten 401(k)s — the average lost account holds nearly $70,000, and a free federal database now finds yours by Social Security number
In 2022, a 54-year-old teacher in Ohio named Margaret Rowell discovered she had a 401(k) worth $43,000 sitting with a recordkeeper she had never heard...
Low- and middle-income savers can claim up to $2,000 back just for funding a retirement account — but only about 6% of eligible filers ever take the credit
Put $2,000 into a Roth IRA this year while earning $35,000, and the federal government will knock $1,000 straight off your tax bill. File jointly...
A stay-at-home spouse with no paycheck can still put $7,000 into an IRA this year — a spousal account most couples don’t realize the tax code allows
Sarah Chen left her marketing job three years ago to raise her twin toddlers in suburban Denver. Her husband, James, maxes out his own 401(k)...
Leftover money in a child’s 529 college fund can now roll into their Roth IRA — up to $35,000, tax-free, instead of taking the old withdrawal penalty
You saved diligently in a 529 plan for 18 years, and then your kid earned a scholarship that covered half the bill. Great news for...
Workers can stash $7,000 in an IRA this year — and anyone 50 or older can add another $1,000 that most eligible savers never bother to claim
If you turned 50 this year and have an IRA, the IRS is offering you an extra $1,000 in tax-advantaged contribution room on top of...
A family can now shield $8,750 a year from taxes in a health savings account — and after age 65 it works like a second 401(k) most workers never open
The 2026 health savings account limits are now in effect, and for the first time, a family on a high-deductible health plan can contribute up...
401(k) millionaires just hit a record 665,000 as the market climbs — yet half of American workers have less than $45,000 saved for retirement
Somewhere in America, 665,000 people have crossed the million-dollar mark in their 401(k) accounts. That is the highest number Fidelity Investments has ever recorded, based...
Starting in 2027, the government will deposit up to $1,000 a year straight into the retirement accounts of low- and middle-income savers — free money most don’t know is coming
Imagine putting $2,000 into your Roth IRA this year and finding an extra $1,000 from the federal government sitting in the same account a few...
401(k) catch-up contributions jump to $11,250 for workers aged 60 to 63 this year — a new “super catch-up” most eligible savers don’t even know exists
Turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 at any point this year and the IRS lets you contribute up to $11,250 in catch-up money to your...
The average 401(k) balance hit a record $168,000 last year — and a record 6% of workers also pulled hardship cash from their accounts, mostly to stop foreclosure
The average 401(k) balance climbed to an all-time high of $168,000 in 2024, according to Fidelity Investments’ quarterly retirement analysis. In the same year, a...
401(k) plans can now hold private equity for the first time — Trump’s executive order opens $9 trillion in retirement money to assets that don’t trade on public markets
A 35-year-old software engineer in Austin who has never picked a single fund in her 401(k) could soon own a slice of a private equity...
Hardship withdrawals from 401(k) accounts just hit a record — up 252% since COVID, because everyday bills are eating retirement savings
The money was supposed to be for retirement. Instead, it is going to back rent, emergency room copays, and grocery bills that keep climbing. Across...
Every generation cut 401(k) contributions this year except Gen Z — they raised theirs to 6.2%, and 57% say multiple income streams are now essential
While workers across every other age group quietly dialed back their retirement savings over the past year, Gen Z did the opposite. The youngest full-time...
Gen Z is the only generation still increasing 401(k) contributions — they bumped theirs to 6.2% while boomers, millennials, and Gen X all pulled back for the first time in 3 years
A 25-year-old earning $50,000 is now putting roughly $3,100 a year into a retirement account. That figure, on its own, is easy to dismiss. But...
Every generation cut 401(k) contributions this year except Gen Z — they raised theirs to 6.2% while boomers, Gen X, and millennials all pulled back
Workers under 28 are doing something their older colleagues are not: putting more money into their 401(k) plans. A Dayforce report published in spring 2026...
Workers cut 401(k) contributions for the first time in 3 years — except Gen Z, who raised theirs to 6.2%
After three years of steady increases, American workers are pulling back on 401(k) contributions. The average deferral rate across all age groups slipped to approximately...