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401(k)s, IRAs and planning ahead.
The age you start Social Security permanently sets the size of your monthly check, and the gap between claiming at 62 and at 70 is large. This guide explains full retirement age, early reductions, delayed credits, spousal and survivor benefits, the earnings test and taxes, so the trade-offs are clear.
Target-date funds are the default investment in many American 401(k) plans, which means millions of savers own one without having chosen it. Here is how they work, what a glide path is, why two 2050 funds can hold very different portfolios, and what to check before relying on one.
Pre-tax retirement savings cannot stay sheltered forever. Required minimum distributions force withdrawals each year once you reach a set age. This guide explains which accounts are covered, when RMDs start, how the amount is calculated, the penalty for missing one and the rules for inherited accounts.
The 401(k), traditional IRA and Roth IRA all offer tax breaks for retirement saving, but they differ on who can open them, when the tax benefit arrives, how much you can put in and how flexible withdrawals are. This guide lays out the rules side by side and explains the trade-offs between pre-tax and Roth saving.
