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
A will alone does not avoid probate, but a living trust can keep your estate out of court
Families who assume a signed will keeps their property out of probate court face a costly surprise when a loved one dies. A will names...
An employer’s 401(k) match is free money, yet many workers contribute too little to collect all of it
Millions of American workers are passing up free retirement dollars each year by contributing too little to their 401(k) plans to collect the full employer...
The beneficiary form on your 401(k) or IRA overrides whatever your will says
On the same day the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings and Investment Plan, the Court confirmed...
Money inside a 401(k) or IRA is shielded from most creditors, even in bankruptcy
Millions of Americans carry both retirement savings and consumer debt, and many face the question of what happens to a 401(k) or IRA if they...
The IRA contribution limit is $7,500 this year, or $8,000 once you turn 50
Workers saving for retirement through an Individual Retirement Account got more room to contribute in 2026, with the IRS raising the annual cap to $7,500...
Required withdrawals from a traditional IRA now begin at age 73
Americans who turned 73 in 2025 face a federal deadline that did not exist for the previous cohort of retirees: they must begin pulling money...
Workers who left a 401(k) at an old job can roll it into an IRA to cut fees and pick their own funds
Workers who changed jobs and left a 401(k) behind are often paying fees they never agreed to and may not even recognize. More than 70...
Heirs whose parent had already started withdrawals must now take a yearly distribution too
Families who inherited an IRA from a parent who had already begun taking required minimum distributions now face an obligation many did not expect: they...
A non-working spouse can keep saving for retirement through a spousal IRA
Couples in which one spouse has left the workforce or has no earned income can still set aside up to $7,500 in an IRA for...
Surviving spouses, minor children, and disabled heirs can still stretch an inherited IRA over many years
Families who inherit an IRA after the death of a loved one face a strict clock: most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty the account within 10...
A new push would let 401(k) plans hold stakes in private companies like SpaceX
Millions of American workers saving for retirement through 401(k) plans could soon gain access to stakes in private companies like SpaceX, Stripe, and other firms...
Women save at higher rates than men but retire with smaller 401(k)s
Women consistently set aside a larger share of their paychecks for retirement than men do, yet they still arrive at retirement age with smaller 401(k)...
The average IRA slipped 4% last quarter to $131,380 even as savers paid in record sums
Millions of Americans watching their retirement savings saw average IRA balances drop 4 percent last quarter to $131,380, even as workers funneled record amounts of...
Americans poured a record amount into IRAs last quarter, up 29% from a year ago
American households directed a record volume of dollars into Individual Retirement Arrangements last quarter, with contributions climbing 29 percent compared with the same period a...
Roth conversions jumped 41% as savers move to lock in today’s tax rates
Retirement savers converted traditional IRA and 401(k) balances into Roth accounts at a sharply higher rate in the first three months of 2026, driven by...
67% of new IRA contributions are now going into Roth accounts
Two out of every three dollars flowing into individual retirement accounts at Fidelity Investments now land in Roth accounts, a shift that signals millions of...
After 65, a health savings account works like an IRA — withdraw for anything and just pay regular income tax
Americans who spent decades funneling money into a health savings account face a quiet but significant shift once they turn 65: the penalty for spending...
A donor-advised fund lets you bunch several years of charitable giving into one bigger deduction
Taxpayers who give to charity every year but never clear the standard deduction threshold face a familiar frustration: their donations produce zero tax benefit. A...
About 19.2% of 401(k) savers now carry a loan against their own account
Nearly one in five workers with a 401(k) plan now owe money against their own retirement savings, a ratio that signals growing financial pressure on...
Inherited IRAs must usually be fully emptied within 10 years under current law
Millions of Americans who inherited retirement accounts from family members who died after 2019 face a hard deadline: drain every dollar from the account within...