The financial news that actually matters
Focuses on savings strategies, 401(k), IRA accounts, retirement goals, and long-term financial planning. It helps individuals build sustainable retirement income strategies.
A little-known 403(b) rule can reward long service at schools, hospitals and a short list of nonprofit employers with extra tax-advantaged saving room. It is not a universal senior catch-up and it is not automatically $3,000. The plan must permit the provision, the employee must satisfy the service test, and an IRS formula can reduce…
A second job or a midyear career change can make a retirement saver feel as though a fresh workplace plan brings a fresh contribution ceiling. Federal tax law treats the employee deferral limit as an individual cap across the covered plans. In 2026, that creates a $24,500 coordination problem for anyone moving among a 401(k),…
A job left decades ago can still carry a retirement benefit that never found its owner. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation keeps a federal search tool for unpaid money transferred when retirement plans ended, and it updates the database quarterly. For workers with fragmented careers, the search can uncover a pension or account that was…
A defined-contribution retirement account can receive as much as $72,000 in combined worker and employer additions for 2026, before eligible catch-up contributions. The number is much larger than the familiar employee salary-deferral limit because it counts several funding streams together. Reaching it generally requires a generous employer formula, after-tax employee contributions, self-employment plan funding, or…
A required minimum distribution is not merely a suggested retirement withdrawal. Missing all or part of it can create an excise tax equal to 25% of the shortfall, although timely correction can reduce the rate to 10%. The penalty falls on the amount not withdrawn, making calculation errors and forgotten accounts potentially expensive even when…
Bonds often occupy the “safe” side of a retirement portfolio, but safety depends partly on whether the owner can hold until maturity. When market stress reduces the number of willing buyers, a retiree who needs cash may have to accept a steep discount. The loss is not necessarily a default; it can be the price…
A bond that pays no annual coupon can still create an annual federal tax bill. Zero-coupon bonds are purchased below face value and generally pay their full face amount at maturity, making them useful for a future expense. In a taxable account, however, the IRS can treat part of that future gain as interest each…
A securities-backed line of credit can produce cash without an immediate portfolio sale, which makes it appealing to asset-rich retirees. The hidden tradeoff arrives when markets fall: a lender can demand more collateral or repayment on a timetable measured in days, then sell pledged investments if the borrower cannot comply. A retirement portfolio intended to…
Borrowing against a brokerage account can turn a market decline into a forced retirement decision. In a margin account, the broker holds contractual rights that many investors do not expect: the firm may liquidate securities without consulting the customer, and it may act before an informal margin-call deadline expires. The sale can lock in losses,…
A terminal diagnosis can force a family to use retirement savings years earlier than planned. Federal law provides a narrow relief valve: a qualifying IRA distribution received after proper physician certification may avoid the 10% additional tax that normally applies before age 59½. The exception does not make the withdrawal tax-free, and the paperwork must…