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
Women hold a median $60,400 in a workplace retirement plan, men $81,600
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Most 401(k) plans let one spouse empty the account without the other one knowing, and the GAO found no legal recourse
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Two married veterans who both need daily care can draw $46,143 a year
Veterans Affairs pays a disability pension to wartime veterans with limited income, and the ceiling on that payment rises sharply when both spouses in a...
Roughly 50 million American workers have no retirement plan at work, the White House says
On April 30, 2026, the White House published a fact sheet describing an executive order President Trump signed that day, directing the Treasury Department to...
The federal retirement site opening January 1 caps account administrative costs at 0.15 percent
An executive order signed April 30, 2026, sets a fixed ceiling on what a private company can charge to run a retirement account listed on...
A Medicaid applicant can be turned down over home equity anywhere from $752,000 to $1,130,000, depending on the state
A Medicaid applicant seeking long-term care coverage can be denied over home equity that ranges from $752,000 at the federal minimum to $1,130,000 at the...
The Saver’s Credit can return up to half of a low earner’s retirement deposit
A federal tax credit worth up to half of what a lower-income worker deposits into a retirement account exists specifically to reward the savings habit...
Inherit an IRA today and you have just 10 years to empty it
Inheriting a parent’s or relative’s individual retirement account used to come with decades to spread out the tax bill. Today, most non-spouse heirs face a...
A workplace 401(k) is generally shielded from creditors and lawsuits
A dollar sitting in a workplace 401(k) enjoys a level of legal protection that most other assets in a household never get: under federal law,...
A pension survivor option trims the check now but keeps paying a spouse later
Retirees leaving a traditional pension face a decision that most workers never see coming: whether to accept a smaller monthly check for the rest of...
Workers aged 60 to 63 can put an extra $11,250 into a 401(k) this year
Workers who turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 at any point in 2026 can defer an extra $11,250 into a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457 plan...
The federal estate-tax exemption jumped to $15 million per person this year under the new law
The federal estate and gift tax exemption climbed to $15 million per person for 2026, the IRS confirmed in its annual inflation adjustments, up from...
A Medicaid nursing-home spouse can keep up to $162,660 and the family home
When one spouse enters a Medicaid-funded nursing home, federal spousal-impoverishment rules let the spouse who remains at home keep up to $162,660 in countable assets...
A new bill would let homeowners over 65 shield up to $1 million in home-sale profit from taxes
A bill introduced in the House this summer would let homeowners 65 and older shield up to $1 million of home-sale profit from capital-gains tax,...
A life-insurance payout to a named beneficiary skips probate and usually arrives income-tax-free
A life-insurance death benefit paid to a named beneficiary bypasses probate court entirely and, in the vast majority of cases, arrives without any federal income...
Adding an adult child to your bank account can expose the money to that child’s creditors and lawsuits
Naming an adult child as a joint owner on a bank account can put the parent’s entire balance at risk if that child is later...
Roth IRA earnings turn tax-free only after the account is five years old
A Roth IRA can turn a saver’s very first year of contributions into a five-year waiting period before any investment gains inside the account are...
A Roth IRA never forces the owner to take a required withdrawal
A Roth IRA owner can let the account grow untouched for the rest of their life, since federal tax law never forces a withdrawal the...
State regulators warn that swapping a pension for an annuity often just pays a salesperson a fat commission
Retirees who rolled pension savings into an annuity are a top target for a sales practice regulators call “churning” — pushing a client to trade...
Older savers can put an extra catch-up amount into a 401(k) each year once they turn 50
Turning 50 unlocks a retirement-savings lever many workers never use: the ability to funnel extra money into a 401(k) beyond the plan’s standard annual deferral...