Retirement planning, in plain English

I spent years untangling my own 401(k)s and IRAs and working out whether I could actually afford to retire, mostly by trial, error, and reading things twice. This is the plain-English version I wish I'd started with: how your accounts work, when to take Social Security, how much you really need, and how to turn a lifetime of saving into a paycheck that lasts. A Certified Financial Planner reviews it.

Latest articles

• The Year Before You Retire: A Checklist From Twelve Months Out to Your Last Day

  Twelve months out is when retirement stops being a number and becomes paperwork. A checklist for health cover, Social Security, Medicare, savings, and taxes.

• Paying Taxes in Retirement: Withholding vs Estimated Payments, and How to Avoid the Penalty

  No paycheck means no automatic withholding. How to have tax taken from Social Security, IRAs, and pensions, when quarterly payments apply, and the safe harbor.

• Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs): Giving From Your IRA Tax-Free After 70½

  From 70½ you can send up to $111,000 a year (2026) straight from an IRA to charity, untaxed and counted toward your RMD. The rules, the traps, how to file.

• The Social Security Fairness Act: What Ending WEP and GPO Means for Teachers and Public Workers

  Teachers, police, and other public workers with a non-covered pension saw WEP and GPO cut their Social Security until 2025. What the repeal changed for you.

• 403(b) Plans Explained: How the Teacher and Nonprofit Plan Differs From a 401(k)

  Teachers and nonprofit staff get a 403(b), not a 401(k): same $24,500 limit for 2026, a narrower investment menu, a 15-year catch-up, and often no ERISA cover.

• Health Insurance Before Medicare: Bridging the Gap to 65

  An advisor-reviewed guide to covering health insurance if you retire before 65: COBRA, the ACA marketplace, a spouse's plan, retiree coverage, and how retirement withdrawals change what you pay.

• Roth Conversions: Paying Tax Now to Take It Out Tax-Free Later

  An advisor-reviewed guide to Roth conversions: how the tax works, why early retirement is the classic window, the five-year rule, IRMAA and the pro-rata trap, and when converting is a bad idea.

• IRMAA: How Medicare's Income Surcharge Works and the Two-Year Lookback That Catches People

  IRMAA is a Medicare surcharge that raises your Part B and Part D premiums when your income from two years ago crosses set thresholds. Here is how it works.

• Reviewing Your Retirement Plan: An Annual Checkup

  An advisor-reviewed guide to reviewing your retirement plan: why an annual check matters, the life events that should trigger a review, rebalancing investments, adjusting contributions and withdrawals, and keeping beneficiaries up to date.

• Making Your Money Last: How to Not Run Out in Retirement

  An advisor-reviewed guide to making your retirement savings last: sequence-of-returns risk, the 4% rule as a starting guide, flexible guardrails withdrawals, a cash buffer, an income floor, and planning for inflation.

• Inflation and Retirement: Protecting a 30-Year Income

  An advisor-reviewed guide to inflation in retirement: why rising prices erode a fixed income, how Social Security's COLA helps, the role of TIPS and growth assets, and why too much cash is risky over a long retirement.

• Long-Term Care Costs: How to Pay for Care in Retirement

  An advisor-reviewed guide to paying for long-term care: why Medicare does not cover most of it, and the three main options of self-funding, long-term care insurance, and Medicaid.

• Medicare Explained: Parts A, B, C, and D for Retirement

  An advisor-reviewed guide to Medicare: eligibility at 65, what Parts A, B, C, and D cover, Medicare Advantage vs Medigap, enrollment windows, late penalties, IRMAA surcharges, and what Medicare does not cover.

• Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): The Stealth Retirement Account

  An advisor-reviewed guide to using a Health Savings Account as a retirement tool: the triple tax advantage, who is eligible, paying for medical costs, and using it like an IRA after 65.

• Social Security Spousal and Survivor Benefits: How They Work

  A clear, advisor-reviewed guide to Social Security spousal benefits (up to 50%), survivor benefits (up to 100%), and divorced-spouse benefits, plus how claiming timing changes what you get.

• Avoiding Retirement Scams: Warning Signs, Checking Credentials, and Reporting

  How to spot and avoid scams targeting retirement savings: the red flags, how to check an advisor on FINRA BrokerCheck and the SEC's Investor.gov, and how to report fraud to the SEC, FINRA, or the FTC.

• Inherited Retirement Accounts: Beneficiaries, the 10-Year Rule, and Inherited IRAs

  What happens when you inherit a 401(k) or IRA: naming and updating beneficiaries, the SECURE Act 10-year rule for most non-spouse heirs, spousal options, Roth vs traditional tax treatment, and required distributions.

• Dividing Retirement Accounts in Divorce: QDROs, IRA Transfers, and Social Security

  How retirement accounts are split in a US divorce: the QDRO for 401(k)s and pensions, IRA transfers incident to divorce, valuing the accounts, and the Social Security rules for divorced spouses.

• Retirement Plans for the Self-Employed: SEP-IRA, Solo 401(k), and SIMPLE IRA

  A plain-English guide to retirement plans for freelancers and small-business owners: how the SEP-IRA, Solo 401(k), and SIMPLE IRA work, how much you can contribute, the tax deduction, and how to choose.

• Working in Retirement: The Social Security Earnings Test, Taxes, and Your Benefits

  How working while collecting Social Security affects your check: the earnings test before full retirement age, why withheld benefits come back, how wages are taxed, and what part-time work means for Medicare and your 401(k).

• Retiring Early: What It Really Takes to Stop Work Before 65

  What early retirement actually requires: a bigger nest egg, bridging the years before 59½, the Rule of 55 and 72(t), the health-insurance gap before Medicare at 65, Social Security at 62, and whether FIRE is sustainable.

• Budgeting in Retirement: Turning a Nest Egg Into Your Own Paycheck

  How to budget in retirement once the paycheck stops: building your own income, separating fixed and discretionary spending, keeping a cash buffer, and the psychology of spending a nest egg you spent decades building.

• Phased Retirement: Easing Out of Work by Cutting Back Your Hours

  How phased retirement works: cutting back hours instead of stopping all at once, and how it interacts with the Social Security earnings test, your 401(k) match, and health insurance before Medicare at 65.

• The Emotional Side of Retiring: Identity, Purpose, and the Adjustment

  An honest, first-person look at the emotional side of retiring: the loss of identity and routine, missing colleagues, and how to find new structure and meaning after a long career.

• My First Year of Retirement: A Real, Season-by-Season Account

  A former teacher's honest, first-person account of her first year of retirement: replacing the paycheck from her accounts, signing up for Medicare, deciding when to claim Social Security, the money admin, and the emotional adjustment.

• Taxes in Retirement: How Your Retirement Income Is Taxed

  An advisor-reviewed guide to taxes in retirement: how traditional withdrawals, Social Security, and RMDs are taxed, why Roth and taxable accounts matter, IRMAA Medicare surcharges, and managing your tax bracket.

• Annuity vs Drawdown: Guaranteed Income or Staying Invested?

  An advisor-reviewed comparison of annuities and drawdown: certainty vs flexibility, who each suits, and how to combine both by covering essentials with Social Security and an annuity while keeping the rest invested.

• Annuities Explained: Trading a Lump Sum for Guaranteed Income for Life

  An advisor-reviewed guide to income annuities: how they swap a lump sum for guaranteed lifetime income, immediate vs deferred, single vs joint life, fixed vs variable, and the real pros and cons.

• Retirement Withdrawal Strategies: How to Draw Income From Your Nest Egg

  A plain-English, advisor-reviewed guide to retirement withdrawal strategies: the 4% rule and its limits, systematic withdrawals, the bucket strategy, sequence-of-returns risk, and a tax-smart withdrawal order.

• When to Claim Social Security: 62 vs Full Retirement Age vs 70

  How to make the biggest timing decision in retirement: claiming Social Security at 62 (reduced about 30%), at full retirement age 67, or waiting to 70 for about 8% more per year, plus break-even thinking, health and marital status, and the earnings test if you keep working.

• Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs): When They Start, How They're Calculated, and the Penalty

  A clear guide to required minimum distributions: why RMDs must begin at age 73 (rising to 75 in 2033), which accounts they apply to, how they are calculated from IRS tables, and the penalty for missing one.

• Accessing Your Retirement Savings: The 10% Penalty, the Exceptions, and Withdrawal Order

  How to take money out of your retirement accounts: the 10% early-withdrawal penalty before 59½ and its exceptions (the Rule of 55, 72(t), and hardship), what order to draw from taxable, traditional, and Roth, and why traditional withdrawals are taxed as income.

• Your Social Security Statement: How to Read It and Check It for Errors

  How to read your Social Security statement at ssa.gov/myaccount: checking your earnings record for mistakes, understanding your estimated benefit at 62, full retirement age, and 70, and why 40 credits matter.

• Finding Lost Retirement Accounts: How to Track Down Old 401(k)s and Pensions

  A step-by-step guide to finding lost retirement accounts in the US: contacting former employers and plan administrators, searching the DOL and federal Retirement Savings Lost and Found, state unclaimed-property sites, and the PBGC for lost pensions.

• 401(k) Rollovers: What to Do With an Old 401(k) When You Leave a Job

  Your options for an old 401(k) when you change jobs: leave it, roll it to your new plan, or roll it to an IRA, plus direct versus indirect rollovers, the 60-day and 20% withholding traps, rollover versus transfer, and how to avoid taxes and penalties.

• How to Start Saving for Retirement: The Order of Operations

  A simple order of operations for starting retirement savings: get the full 401(k) match, pay down high-interest debt, max an IRA or HSA, then go back to the 401(k), where to open accounts, picking a target-date fund, and automating it all.

• Retirement Account Fees: Expense Ratios, Advisory Fees, and Why 1% Matters

  How retirement account fees work: expense ratios, advisory fees, and 401(k) plan costs, why even a 1% fee compounds into a huge sum over decades, and how to find low-cost index and target-date funds.

• Retirement Contribution Limits 2026: 401(k), IRA, and Catch-Up Amounts

  The 2026 retirement contribution limits explained: $24,500 for a 401(k), $7,500 for an IRA, the age-50 and ages-60-to-63 catch-up amounts, why the employer match does not count toward your limit, and what to do if you over-contribute.

• Choosing a Financial Advisor: Fiduciary Duty, Fees, and How to Check One

  When you need a financial advisor versus free tools, what the fiduciary standard means, how to read CFP and other credentials, fee-only versus commission, and how to check an advisor on FINRA BrokerCheck and Investor.gov.

• How Much to Save for Retirement: The 15% Rule, the Match, and Savings by Age

  An advisor-reviewed, plain-English guide to how much to save for retirement: the 15% savings-rate guideline, always getting the full employer match, savings-by-age benchmarks, 2026 contribution limits, and starting early vs catching up.

• When Can I Retire? The Key Ages: 59½, 62, 65, 67, and 70

  An advisor-reviewed guide to the ages that decide when you can retire: 59½ for penalty-free withdrawals, 62 for Social Security, 65 for Medicare, 67 full retirement age, 70 to max Social Security, plus the Rule of 55 and phasing out of work.

• How Much Do I Need to Retire? The Replacement Ratio, the 25x Rule, and Savings by Age

  An advisor-reviewed, plain-English way to estimate your retirement number: the 70% to 80% replacement ratio, the 25x rule, savings-by-age benchmarks, and how to turn a target income into a target nest egg with Social Security in the mix.

• How Retirement Accounts Are Invested: Funds, Target-Date Funds, Risk, and Fees

  An advisor-reviewed, plain-English guide to how the money inside a 401(k) or IRA is actually invested: mutual funds, index funds, target-date funds, the default fund, stocks vs bonds, risk over time, and why fees matter.

• Traditional Pensions Explained: Defined Benefit Plans, Lump Sum vs Monthly, and PBGC Insurance

  A plain-English, advisor-reviewed guide to traditional defined benefit pensions: how a guaranteed monthly check is calculated, who still has one, the lump sum vs monthly payout choice, and how PBGC insurance protects you.

• IRA Accounts Explained: Traditional vs Roth, 2026 Limits, and How to Open One

  An advisor-reviewed guide to Individual Retirement Accounts: traditional and Roth IRAs, the 2026 limit of $7,500 plus catch-up, income limits, how they differ from a 401(k), who should open one, and how to set one up at a brokerage.

• Traditional vs Roth: The Tax Decision Behind Every Retirement Account

  An advisor-reviewed guide to the traditional vs Roth choice: pre-tax (tax break now, taxed later) versus after-tax (no break now, tax-free later), Roth IRA income phase-outs, Roth's lack of RMDs, and how to decide.

• 401(k) Plans Explained: The Match, Vesting, and 2026 Contribution Limits

  An advisor-reviewed guide to how a 401(k) works: pre-tax and Roth contributions, the employer match, auto-enrollment, vesting, the 2026 limit of $24,500, catch-up contributions, and how the money is invested.

• Social Security Explained: How Benefits, Credits, and Claiming Work

  An advisor-reviewed guide to how Social Security works: the 35-year earnings record, the 40 credits to qualify, full retirement age of 67, claiming from 62 to 70, average and maximum 2026 benefits, and how to check your statement.

• Types of Retirement Accounts: 401(k)s, IRAs, Pensions, and HSAs Explained

  An advisor-reviewed guide to the main US retirement accounts: employer plans like the 401(k), 403(b), 457, and TSP; traditional and Roth IRAs; traditional pensions; and the HSA as a bonus retirement tool.

• Retirement Planning: How 401(k)s, IRAs, and Social Security Fit Together

  A clear, advisor-reviewed guide to US retirement planning: the pillars of retirement income, how much you need, when you can retire, and how to turn 401(k)s, IRAs, and Social Security into a reliable income.