The Learning Center

Retirement accounts and financial planning, in plain English

Articles on 401(k)s, IRAs, Social Security, Medicare, taxes, estate planning basics and investing fundamentals. Each one links to the official sources it draws on.

61 articles

Social Security
When to claim Social Security: 62, full retirement age or 70
How the monthly Social Security retirement benefit changes depending on the age it starts, with the official reduction and delayed-credit rules explained.
4 min read
IRAs & Roth
Roth vs. traditional IRA: how they differ
A plain-English comparison of traditional and Roth IRAs: when each one is taxed, who can contribute or deduct, and how withdrawals and required distributions work.
4 min read
Taxes in retirement
Required minimum distributions (RMDs): the basics
What required minimum distributions are, which accounts they apply to, when they start, how the yearly amount is figured, and what happens if one is missed.
5 min read
Medicare & healthcare in retirement
Medicare Parts A, B, C and D explained
What each part of Medicare covers, what it costs in 2026, and how Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage, drug plans and Medigap fit together.
4 min read
Retirement planning & income
The 4% rule: what it is and where it falls short
The 4% rule is a research finding about past data, not a guarantee. Learn what it actually says, the assumptions behind it and its main limits.
4 min read
Estate planning basics
Beneficiary designations: why they matter
How beneficiary forms on retirement accounts work, why they usually control who inherits the account, and the situations where an old form causes problems.
4 min read
401(k) & workplace plans
401(k) contribution limits and catch-up contributions for 2026 and 2027
The 2026 and 2027 401(k) limits from the IRS: employee deferrals, age 50 and age 60-63 catch-ups, the overall cap, and the Roth catch-up rule for higher earners.
4 min read
401(k) & workplace plans
401(k) loans: how they work and what they cost
How borrowing from a 401(k) works: the legal limits, repayment rules, what happens if you leave the job, and the less obvious costs of taking a loan.
4 min read
401(k) & workplace plans
How a 401(k) works: contributions, taxes and investments
A plain-English walk through a 401(k): how money gets in, how it is taxed, who chooses the investments, and the basic rules on taking money out.
5 min read
401(k) & workplace plans
How an employer 401(k) match works
How 401(k) matching formulas work, with worked examples, plus how vesting, pay-period timing and annual limits can affect the amount actually received.
4 min read
401(k) & workplace plans
Traditional vs. Roth 401(k) contributions
How traditional and Roth 401(k) contributions differ: when tax is paid, what counts as a qualified Roth withdrawal, and the factors people weigh in choosing.
4 min read
401(k) & workplace plans
Vesting: when employer contributions become yours
What vesting means in a 401(k), how cliff and graded schedules work, how a year of service is counted, and what happens to unvested money when a job ends.
4 min read
Rollovers & old accounts
403(b), 457(b) and TSP accounts: how rollovers differ
How rollovers from 403(b) plans, governmental and non-governmental 457(b) plans and the federal Thrift Savings Plan differ from a standard 401(k) rollover.
5 min read
Rollovers & old accounts
Company stock in a 401(k): the net unrealized appreciation rule in brief
What net unrealized appreciation (NUA) is, when employer stock in a 401(k) qualifies, how the tax works with an example, and the tradeoffs involved.
5 min read
Rollovers & old accounts
How to find a 401(k) you lost track of
Practical steps for tracking down an old 401(k): former employers, the Labor Department's Lost and Found database, PBGC, and state unclaimed property.
5 min read
Rollovers & old accounts
Rolling an old 401(k) into a new employer's plan
What to know about moving an old 401(k) into a new employer's plan: whether the plan accepts rollovers, how it compares with an IRA, and the steps involved.
4 min read
Rollovers & old accounts
What happens to Roth 401(k) money in a rollover
Where Roth 401(k) money can go in a rollover, why a direct rollover matters, and how the five-year clock works for a Roth IRA versus a new employer's plan.
5 min read
IRAs & Roth
IRA contribution limits and income rules for 2026 and 2027
The annual IRA contribution limit, the catch-up amount at 50, and the income ranges that limit Roth IRA contributions and traditional IRA deductions, by tax year.
4 min read
IRAs & Roth
Roth conversions explained
What a Roth conversion is, how the converted amount is taxed, the rules on timing and reversals, and the side effects of adding income to a single tax year.
4 min read
IRAs & Roth
SEP and SIMPLE IRAs: retirement accounts for the self-employed and small businesses
How SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs work, who contributes, the 2026 and 2027 contribution limits, and the main tradeoffs between the two small-business plans.
4 min read
IRAs & Roth
The "backdoor Roth IRA": what the term means
An explanation of the two-step arrangement people call a backdoor Roth IRA, the pro-rata rule that often makes it partly taxable, and the paperwork involved.
4 min read
IRAs & Roth
The Roth IRA five-year rules
There are two separate five-year periods for Roth IRAs. One decides when earnings come out tax-free; the other applies to converted money withdrawn before age 59½.
4 min read
Social Security
How Social Security benefits are taxed
How the IRS decides whether part of a Social Security benefit is taxable, the income thresholds involved, and how other retirement income affects the result.
4 min read
Social Security
How Social Security retirement benefits are calculated
A plain-English walk through credits, indexed earnings, the highest 35 years and the benefit formula Social Security uses to set a retirement benefit.
4 min read
Social Security
Social Security spousal and survivor benefits: the basics
How Social Security pays benefits to husbands, wives, ex-spouses and surviving spouses, including who qualifies and how claiming age changes the amount.
5 min read
Social Security
Working while collecting Social Security: the earnings test
How the Social Security earnings test works before full retirement age, the 2026 and 2027 earnings limits, and what happens to benefits that are withheld.
4 min read
Retirement planning & income
Annuities: the basic types and how they work
An annuity is an insurance contract that can turn savings into income. Learn the main types, how the costs work and the questions regulators suggest.
4 min read
Retirement planning & income
How much to save for retirement: ways to think about it
There is no single correct retirement number. Here is how spending, other income, time and assumptions combine into a personal savings target.
4 min read
Retirement planning & income
Pension lump sum vs. monthly payments
Some pension plans offer a one-time lump sum in place of monthly payments for life. Learn how each option works, the tradeoffs and the tax rules.
5 min read
Retirement planning & income
Sequence-of-returns risk explained
Why the order of good and bad investment years matters once withdrawals begin, shown with a simple hypothetical example and common responses.
4 min read
Retirement planning & income
Turning savings into retirement income: the moving parts
A retirement income plan matches spending to income sources. See the main pieces: expenses, Social Security, withdrawals, taxes and reserves.
4 min read
Medicare & healthcare in retirement
Health coverage if you retire before 65
The main ways to stay insured between leaving a job and Medicare at 65, including COBRA, Marketplace plans, retiree coverage and the deadlines for each.
5 min read
Medicare & healthcare in retirement
Health savings accounts (HSAs): the basics
Who can contribute to a health savings account, the 2026 and 2027 contribution limits, how withdrawals are taxed, and what changes when Medicare begins.
4 min read
Medicare & healthcare in retirement
IRMAA: how income affects Medicare premiums
How the income-related monthly adjustment amount raises Medicare Part B and Part D premiums, the 2026 income brackets, and what can be done after a drop in income.
4 min read
Medicare & healthcare in retirement
Medicare enrollment periods and late-enrollment penalties
When to sign up for Medicare, how the initial, general and special enrollment periods work, and how the Part A, Part B and Part D late penalties are figured.
5 min read
Taxes in retirement
Early withdrawals: the 10% additional tax, the "rule of 55" and other exceptions
How the 10% additional tax on retirement withdrawals before age 59½ works, which exceptions apply to workplace plans and which to IRAs, and what the rule of 55 is.
5 min read
Taxes in retirement
How different kinds of retirement income are taxed
A plain-English tour of how federal income tax treats retirement account withdrawals, pensions, annuities, Social Security and investment income in retirement.
5 min read
Taxes in retirement
Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) explained
How IRA owners age 70½ or older can give directly to charity from an IRA, the annual limit for 2026 and 2027, and how a QCD interacts with required distributions.
4 min read
Taxes in retirement
Taxable, tax-deferred and tax-free: the three account "buckets"
How ordinary investment accounts, pre-tax retirement accounts and Roth accounts are each taxed, and why some people hold savings in more than one of the three.
4 min read
Estate planning basics
Federal estate and gift tax basics
How the federal estate and gift taxes work together, the 2026 exclusion amounts, which gifts need a return, and why most estates owe no federal estate tax.
5 min read
Estate planning basics
Inherited IRAs: the basic rules
How the withdrawal rules for an inherited IRA depend on who the beneficiary is, including spouse options, the 10-year rule and how inherited Roth IRAs differ.
5 min read
Estate planning basics
Powers of attorney and health care directives
What a financial power of attorney, a health care proxy and a living will each do, when they take effect, and what generally happens when none is in place.
4 min read
Estate planning basics
What probate is and how it works
Probate is the court process for settling a person's estate. Learn the usual steps, which assets go through it, which pass outside it, and the tax filings involved.
4 min read
Estate planning basics
Wills vs. trusts: what each one does
A plain-English comparison of wills and revocable living trusts: what each document controls, how each relates to probate, and what neither one covers.
4 min read
Investing fundamentals
Asset allocation and rebalancing: how the mix is set and kept
How investors divide money among stocks, bonds and cash, what time horizon and risk tolerance mean, and how rebalancing keeps a portfolio near its intended mix.
4 min read
Investing fundamentals
Diversification explained: spreading risk across investments
What diversification means, how it works across and within asset classes, what it cannot do, and how to check whether a set of funds is really diversified.
4 min read
Investing fundamentals
Emergency funds: what they are for and where they fit
What an emergency fund is, how people decide on an amount, where the money is commonly kept, and how a cash reserve relates to retirement accounts and debt.
4 min read
Investing fundamentals
Fund fees and expense ratios: what investors pay and where to find it
How mutual fund and ETF costs work: the expense ratio, sales loads, 12b-1 fees and share classes, where each is disclosed, and how to compare funds on cost.
4 min read
Investing fundamentals
How financial advisers are paid
The main ways financial professionals are compensated, from commissions to asset-based and flat fees, the conflicts each can create, and where pay is disclosed.
5 min read
Investing fundamentals
Index funds vs. actively managed funds: how they differ
How index funds and actively managed funds are built and run, why their costs tend to differ, the risks specific to each, and what to read before choosing either.
4 min read
Investing fundamentals
Target-date funds: how they work
How target-date funds shift from stocks toward bonds over time, what a glide path is, why funds with the same year can differ, and what to check before using one.
4 min read
Investing fundamentals
What a fiduciary is, and when a financial professional is one
What fiduciary duty means, how it applies to investment advisers and retirement plan fiduciaries, and how the standard for broker recommendations compares.
5 min read
Life events
After the death of a spouse: financial accounts and benefits
A plain guide to the financial steps after a spouse dies: Social Security, retirement accounts, pensions, life insurance, taxes and account titles.
4 min read
Life events
Changing jobs: a retirement and benefits checklist
A job change touches your old 401(k), vesting, plan loans, health coverage and beneficiary forms. Here is what to review before and after you leave.
4 min read
Life events
Divorce and retirement accounts: QDROs and IRA transfers
Workplace plans and IRAs are divided under different rules in a divorce. Learn what a QDRO does, how IRA transfers work and how taxes apply.
4 min read
Life events
Laid off: what happens to your retirement accounts and benefits
After a layoff, your vested 401(k) money remains yours. Learn how unemployment pay, severance, health coverage and early withdrawals are treated.
4 min read
Life events
Receiving an inheritance: the basics
Most inherited property is not federal taxable income, but retirement accounts and later sales follow their own rules. Here is how each type works.
4 min read
Guide · Rollovers
What to do with a 401(k) from a former employer
When you leave a job, you generally have four choices for the 401(k) you leave behind. Here is how each one works and what to compare.
5 min read
Guide · Rollovers
How a 401(k) rollover works, step by step
Direct and indirect rollovers, the 60-day rule and 20% withholding explained in plain English, with the steps in order.
6 min read
Guide · Rollovers
What 401(k) fees really cost
The kinds of fees inside a 401(k) or IRA, where to find them, and why a small percentage can add up over many years.
5 min read
Guide · Rollovers
Common 401(k) rollover mistakes
Seven avoidable errors people make when moving an old 401(k), from checks made out to the wrong payee to money left sitting in cash.
5 min read

Retirement accounts and financial planning, in plain English

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