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
- 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.