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
The average 401(k) balance hit a record $155,800 in the second quarter, Fidelity says
A record $155,800 is now sitting in the average American 401(k), according to Fidelity Investments’ quarterly look at the workplace retirement accounts it administers. The...
A Labor Department rule to open 401(k)s to private equity and crypto is still only a proposal
A Department of Labor rule that would let 401(k) plans add private equity, private credit and cryptocurrency to their investment lineups remains a proposal, not...
Skipping a required retirement withdrawal after age 73 triggers a 25% penalty, reduced to 10% if corrected quickly
A retirement account owner who misses a required withdrawal after turning 73 does not just owe income tax on the money eventually taken out. The...
Medicaid recipients in a nursing home cannot be evicted for switching to Medicaid to pay the bill
When a nursing-home resident’s savings run out and Medicaid begins covering the bill, some families worry the facility can simply ask the resident to leave....
States must try to recover long-term-care costs from a deceased Medicaid recipient’s estate
Medicaid does not treat long-term-care coverage as a benefit that simply ends when a recipient dies. Federal law requires state Medicaid programs to attempt to...
A Medicaid nursing-home resident keeps only a small state-set personal-needs allowance each month
Nursing-home residents covered by Medicaid do not keep their income the way most people expect. Once eligibility is established, federal Medicaid rules require nearly every...
When a private pension fails, a federal guarantee is capped, so some retirees collect less than promised
When a private-sector pension plan runs out of money, a federal insurance program steps in to keep monthly checks flowing, but the amount it can...
A Trump order clears the way for 401(k) plans to add private equity and crypto
President Trump’s August 7, 2025 executive order directed federal regulators to reexamine the rules that have long kept private equity, cryptocurrency and other alternative assets...
A 529 plan can move up to $35,000 into a Roth IRA
A beneficiary of a 529 qualified tuition program can make a special rollover into that beneficiary’s Roth IRA, but the IRS does not treat it...
Taking a failed pension at 60 cuts the 2026 federal guarantee ceiling to $5,063.35 monthly
Starting a federally guaranteed pension at age 60 can place a much lower ceiling on payments than waiting until 65. For a covered single-employer plan...
A failed pension plan can leave a 65-year-old capped at $7,789.77 a month
When a covered single-employer pension plan ends in 2026 without enough money, the federal maximum guarantee for a 65-year-old receiving a straight-life annuity is $7,789.77...
The Saver’s Credit income ceiling rises to $80,500 for married couples
The 2026 income ceiling for the Saver’s Credit reaches $80,500 for married couples filing jointly, widening the top edge of a federal tax break tied...
Savers 50 and older can put $8,600 into IRAs for 2026
The 2026 IRA limit gives a saver who is at least 50 by year-end as much as $8,600 of contribution room: a $7,500 base allowance...
Workers ages 60 through 63 get an $11,250 401(k) catch-up window this year
Workers who turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 in 2026 have a larger 401(k) catch-up ceiling than both younger and older participants. Their special limit...
The 2026 401(k) limit is $24,500, with another $8,000 after age 50
The employee contribution ceiling for most 401(k) plans is $24,500 in 2026, and workers who reach age 50 by year-end receive another $8,000 of catch-up...
States must offer a hardship waiver before taking a home through Medicaid estate recovery
The same federal rule that lets a state recover Medicaid’s long-term-care costs from a home after death also builds in a full stop: recovery cannot...
A free federal tool lets people 65 and older track down a lost workplace retirement plan
A free database run by the Department of Labor now lets a former employee search, by Social Security number, for a workplace retirement plan they...
If Medicaid paid for your long-term care after 55, the state can claim your home when you die
Federal law does not leave states a choice once a Medicaid enrollee who received long-term care dies at 55 or older: the state must try...
Nearly a third of older households have neither retirement savings nor a pension, the GAO found
Nearly a third of households headed by someone age 55 or older, about 32 percent, have neither retirement savings nor a traditional pension to draw...
About half of households headed by someone 55 or older have no retirement savings
About half of households headed by someone age 55 or older have no retirement savings at all, according to the Government Accountability Office’s long-running review...