Retirement
The 401(k): match, limits and Roth vs traditional
The employer match is a guaranteed 100% return and millions of people skip it every year. Here is what the plan actually does, and the two details…
Retirement saving in the US is a stack of accounts with different rules, and most of the money people lose is lost to the rules, not the markets: an unclaimed match, a rollover done the wrong way, a Roth conversion made in the wrong year, a Social Security claim taken at 62 out of impatience.
These guides take the accounts one at a time — what each one is for, what it costs you to use it wrong, and the order to fill them in. They also answer the question everyone actually has, which is not "what is a 401(k)" but "am I behind, and what does catching up look like from here". Starting at 45 is a different problem from starting at 25, and it deserves a different answer.
Calculators for this
RetirementProject your nest egg to retirement day, then draw it down year by year to see how long it lasts and what it pays you each month.
Compound interestSee what your savings turn into over time. Add monthly contributions, pick how often it compounds, and compare it against simple interest.
Savings goalWork backwards from the number you want. Tell it your target and your deadline, and it tells you what to put away every month.
All 8 retirement guides
Retirement
Roth or traditional IRA: which one, and why
The two accounts differ on one question: do you want the tax bill now or later? Plus the Roth feature almost nobody knows about.
Health
The HSA: the best retirement account nobody uses
Money goes in untaxed, grows untaxed and comes out untaxed. No other American account does all three — and most holders spend it on this year's…
Retirement
Social Security: when to claim
Between 62 and 70 the same work history produces monthly cheques that differ by more than 70%. And the decision, once made, is largely permanent.
Retirement
How much do you need to retire?
There is a famous shortcut, and it is genuinely useful. It is also built on assumptions that are worth knowing before you bet thirty years on it.
Retirement
What to do with a 401(k) when you leave a job
A direct rollover costs nothing and takes a phone call. An indirect one hands you a cheque, a 60-day clock and a 20% hole to fill.
Retirement
Starting retirement savings at 40, 50 or later
Every article about compounding is written for people in their twenties. Starting at 45 is a different problem, with a different set of levers.
Retirement
RMDs: when the IRS makes you withdraw
Decades of deferred tax eventually come due. From a set age the withdrawals are no longer optional — and the amount rises every year.