Category: Retirement & Social Security

Americans who hold health savings accounts and reach age 65 can pull money out for groceries, travel, or any other non-medical expense without facing the 20 percent additional tax that younger account holders owe on such withdrawals. The rule is written directly into federal tax law at 26 U.S.C. Section 223(f)(4), which carves out an…

Self-employed workers gained the ability to shelter up to $70,000 in a solo 401(k) for the 2025 tax year, a figure that rises to $72,000 for 2026. But the actual amount any sole proprietor can contribute depends on a math formula that often pushes the effective cap well below those headline numbers, especially for earners…

Workers who direct part of each paycheck into a Roth 401(k) pay income tax on those dollars right away, but the tradeoff can be significant: every penny of investment growth in that account can come out tax-free in retirement, provided the withdrawal meets federal rules. Traditional 401(k) deferrals work the opposite way, shielding current income…

Americans turning 60, 61, 62, or 63 this year can now stash an extra $11,250 in catch-up contributions to their 401(k) plans, a $3,250 bump over the standard $8,000 catch-up limit for workers 50 and older. The increase, created by the SECURE 2.0 Act and confirmed in IRS dollar-limit tables for 2026, applies to most…

Single filers and heads of household earning a modified adjusted gross income of $168,000 or more in 2026 will be completely shut out of direct Roth IRA contributions, according to the IRS cost-of-living adjustment published in Notice 2025-67. The phase-out begins at $153,000, meaning anyone in that income band can contribute only a reduced amount….

Starting in 2026, Americans with a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457, or Thrift Savings Plan can defer up to $24,500 of their pay into those accounts, a $1,000 increase over the $23,500 ceiling that applied in 2025. The IRS also raised the annual IRA contribution limit to $7,500 for 2026. The adjustment, driven by a cost-of-living…

Workers saving for retirement through an Individual Retirement Arrangement will have more room to contribute starting in 2026, with the IRS raising the annual cap to $7,500 from $7,000. Savers aged 50 and older can set aside up to $8,600, thanks to a catch-up contribution that climbed to $1,100 from $1,000. The increases, driven by…

A growing share of American workers have crossed the seven-figure threshold in their 401(k) accounts, a milestone fueled by consecutive years of strong equity returns. Yet federal data on retirement-account balances reveal that this club of millionaire savers remains extraordinarily small relative to the broader workforce. The gap between the largest accounts and the typical…

Workers younger than 59½ now have a narrow but real escape hatch from the 10 percent early-withdrawal penalty on 401(k) distributions. A provision added to the Internal Revenue Code allows them to pull up to $2,500 per year from a defined-contribution plan, penalty-free, to cover premiums on certified long-term care insurance. The catch: their employer’s…