Topic
Retirement plans drift. Pay changes, markets move, beneficiaries go stale and contribution limits reset. A once-a-year review takes an afternoon and covers contributions, asset mix, fees, beneficiaries, taxes and income projections. Here is a practical checklist, with notes on where each answer comes from.
Retirement planning is not one task but a series of different priorities as you age. This guide walks through each decade from your 30s to your 60s, covering the main goals, common mistakes and decisions that tend to matter most at that stage, with pointers to official sources for current limits.
The Saver's Credit lowers the tax bill of lower- and moderate-income workers who put money into a 401(k), IRA or similar account. This guide explains who qualifies, how the credit percentages work, which contributions count, how to claim it on Form 8880, and how a planned change in 2027 affects it.
The beneficiary form on your 401(k) or IRA usually beats your will, which means one outdated line can send your savings to the wrong person. This guide explains primary and contingent beneficiaries, how spouses and trusts are treated, what happens when you leave the form blank, and a simple review routine.
How you give to charity can matter as much as how much you give. This explainer compares cash gifts, donating appreciated stock, qualified charitable distributions from an IRA and donor-advised funds, along with bunching, recordkeeping and the federal rules that changed for 2026.
Taking money out of a 401(k) or IRA before age 59½ usually means income tax plus a 10% additional tax. But the tax code has more exceptions than most savers realize, from the rule of 55 to substantially equal payments. Here is how early withdrawals work and what to check before you take one.
Markets move, and over time they push a portfolio away from the mix of stocks, bonds and cash it was built around. Rebalancing brings it back. This guide explains why investors rebalance, the main methods, how often people do it, and how to limit taxes and trading costs along the way.
Once you turn 50, the IRS lets you put extra money into 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457 plans and IRAs. This guide explains who qualifies, how catch-up contributions work in each account, the SECURE 2.0 changes for ages 60 to 63 and the Roth rule for higher earners, plus the year-end deadlines that matter.
When you leave an employer, your 401(k) does not have to follow a default path. This guide compares leaving the money in the old plan, moving it to a new plan, rolling it into an IRA and cashing out, with the tax rules on withholding, the 60-day window, early-withdrawal penalties and company stock.
