The financial news that actually matters
Covers retirement planning, Social Security benefits, pension systems, and long-term financial security. It helps readers understand how to prepare financially for retirement.
Low- and middle-income workers who contribute to a retirement account can claim a federal tax credit worth up to $1,000 per individual, or up to $2,000 for married couples filing jointly. But the benefit has a structural flaw: it is nonrefundable, meaning filers who owe little or no federal income tax receive a reduced credit…
Retirees who give to charity from a traditional IRA can exclude the transferred amount from taxable income, a strategy that has grown more relevant as fewer older Americans itemize deductions. The mechanism, known as a qualified charitable distribution, is codified in federal tax law under 26 U.S. Code Section 408(d)(8), which spells out the conditions…
High earners who want to fund a Roth IRA for 2026 face a familiar barrier: the IRS has set income phase-out ranges that block direct contributions once modified adjusted gross income exceeds certain thresholds. But the backdoor Roth strategy, which routes money through a nondeductible traditional IRA before converting it, remains fully available to taxpayers…
Workers covered by 401(k) and 403(b) plans can now defer up to $24,500 of their 2026 earnings before federal income tax, a bump that also lifts the ceiling on individual retirement account contributions to $7,500. The Internal Revenue Service confirmed both figures through announcement IR-2025-111 and the accompanying technical guidance in Notice 2025-67, locking in…
Workers who pull money from a traditional 401(k) before turning 59½ face a double hit: ordinary income tax on every dollar withdrawn, plus a separate 10% additional tax on the taxable portion. That penalty, codified in federal statute and enforced through IRS filing requirements, shrinks the net proceeds of an early withdrawal by a steep…
Workers who contribute less than the amount needed to collect their full employer 401(k) match are effectively turning down extra compensation their employer has already agreed to pay. A common match formula, according to the IRS, is 50 percent of employee contributions up to 5 percent of pay. For someone earning $60,000 a year under…
Taxpayers who have not yet maxed out their 2026 IRA still have months of runway. The contribution deadline does not expire on December 31 but instead tracks the federal income tax return due date, which for calendar-year filers falls on April 15, 2027, or the next business day when weekends or legal holidays intervene. With…
Hundreds of thousands of older Americans living on Social Security could see a chunk of their monthly benefits seized to repay defaulted student loans. Federal law allows the government to withhold up to 15 percent of a borrower’s Social Security check, or the amount above a $750 monthly floor, whichever is less. The Department of…
Millions of teenagers across the United States earn wages from summer jobs, fast-food shifts, and freelance gigs, yet almost none of them funnel that money into a Roth IRA. Federal tax law places no minimum age on opening one. A 16-year-old who deposits even a few hundred dollars a year into a Roth account locks…
Workers who borrow against their 401(k) plans at roughly 8 percent interest often view the arrangement as painless, since the payments flow back into their own accounts. That logic holds only as long as they stay employed. When a job ends and the outstanding loan balance cannot be repaid, the IRS treats the remaining amount…