Tag: IRA

The Roth IRA contribution limit for 2026 is $7,500 — up from $7,000 in 2025. If you're 50 or older, you can add a $1,100 catch-up contribution (now indexed for inflation under SECURE 2.0), bringing your total to $8,600. The income phase-out ranges have also shifted up slightly for 2026.…

For 2026, the IRA contribution limit is $7,500 — the first increase from the $7,000 limit that held for 2024 and 2025. Whether you're putting money into a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA, that's your combined ceiling across all IRA accounts. The IRS announced this increase in IR-2025-111, along…

If you've ever had a 401(k) at one job and a 403(b) at the next, you've probably wondered whether the IRS treats them as the same thing. Mostly, yes — 401(k), 403(b), and TSP plans all share one combined $24,500 employee deferral limit for 2026. The exception is the 457(b),…

The Saver's Credit gives lower- and moderate-income workers a direct tax credit — not just a deduction — for contributing to a retirement account. For 2026, the income limits increased across all filing statuses, so more people now qualify than in prior years. The IRS confirmed these thresholds in Notice…

If you're lucky enough to have a traditional pension — and fewer than one in five private-sector workers are these days — you'll eventually face one of the bigger money decisions of your life: take it as a monthly annuity for as long as you live, or take a lump…

Two major SECURE 2.0 changes took effect in 2026 that most people haven't fully absorbed yet. If you're between 60 and 63, your 401k catch-up limit jumped to $11,250 — significantly more than the $8,000 available to other workers over 50. And if you earned more than $150,000 last year,…

Changing jobs used to mean your old 401(k) sat wherever you left it until you got around to dealing with it — or, if the balance was small enough, your former employer quietly cashed it out and mailed you a check minus withholding. That default is changing. Under SECURE 2.0,…

The SIMPLE IRA (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) is one of the most practical retirement plan options for small businesses. For 2026, the contribution limit rises to $17,000, and the catch-up provisions got a meaningful boost under SECURE 2.0. These 2026 figures are confirmed in IRS Notice IR-2025-111. 2026…

If you're self-employed or running a small business, the retirement account options available to you are frankly better than what most corporate employees get — and most people don't fully take advantage of them. I hear from a lot of small business owners who are using a regular Roth or…

By midsummer, more than half the tax year is already locked in — but there's still enough runway to fix a withholding problem, catch a missed estimated payment, or take advantage of a credit before December 31 forces your hand. Here's what's worth reviewing right now. Check and Adjust Your…

Knowing the exact age at which something happens to your retirement accounts is more valuable than most general planning advice. Miss an RMD at 73 and you're looking at a 25% penalty. Claim Social Security two years too early and that reduction follows you for life. Here's a clear map…

Pull money out of a traditional 401(k) or IRA before you turn 59½, and the IRS adds a 10% penalty on top of whatever income tax you already owe. That's the headline rule everyone knows. What fewer people know is just how many exceptions exist. Some have been on the…

If you're staring at your 401(k) balance wondering how to get at it before retirement, you've got three real options: a loan, a hardship withdrawal, or one of several penalty exceptions Congress has added over the years. They work very differently, and mixing them up is an expensive mistake. I…