Money
401(k)
How employer 401(k) plans work, with 2026 contribution limits, employer matching and vesting rules, traditional versus Roth accounts, fees, loans, rollover choices, and required distributions.
RetiredWiki topic guide
Money & benefits
Retirement income, Social Security, taxes, benefits, and decisions that work together.
The complete collection
Money guides
Use these guides to understand the landscape, prepare questions, and decide what deserves attention next.
Money
Annuities
What annuities are, how each type works, current immediate-annuity payout levels, the fees and surrender charges to check, state guaranty protection, and the sales tactics that deserve suspicion.
Money
Budgeting in retirement
Retirement spending is not flat. It dips through the middle years and rises with health costs late. How to build a budget around guaranteed income, health care, inflation, and the surprises.
Money
Catch-up contributions
Savers 50 and older can put extra money into 401(k)s, IRAs, and HSAs each year. The 2026 catch-up amounts, the new super catch-up for ages 60-63, and the Roth rule for higher earners.
Money
FIRE movement
Financial independence, retire early. Where FIRE came from, how the 25x rule connects to the 4 percent rule, the lean, fat, coast, and barista variants, and what the math offers people 50 and older.
Money
Individual retirement account (IRA)
Traditional IRAs offer tax-deferred retirement saving outside the workplace. 2026 contribution limits and deduction income ranges, spousal IRAs, rollovers versus transfers, penalty exceptions, and RMDs.
Money
Long-term care insurance
More than half of people turning 65 will need long-term care, and Medicare does not pay for most of it. What traditional and hybrid policies cover and cost, who qualifies, and the alternatives.
Money
Make a retirement income map before making withdrawals
See pensions, benefits, savings, work, taxes, and irregular costs in one household view before choosing a withdrawal sequence.
Money
Pensions
A guide to defined benefit pensions, from benefit formulas and vesting to the lump sum versus annuity choice, survivor protections, PBGC insurance limits, and the 2025 repeal of WEP and GPO.
Money
Required minimum distributions (RMDs)
When mandatory withdrawals from tax-deferred retirement accounts begin, how RMDs are calculated, the deadlines and penalties, qualified charitable distributions, and the 10-year rule for inherited accounts.
Money
Retirement age
There is no single retirement age in the United States. The milestones run from 55 to 75, and the ages you choose change your Social Security check, your Medicare coverage, and your taxes.
Money
Retirement planning
An overview of preparing for retirement, with savings benchmarks by age, 2026 account limits, the main sources of retirement income, frequent mistakes, and a checklist for the final five working years.
Money
Retirement withdrawal strategies
How to turn savings into income that lasts. The 4 percent rule and the research since, guardrails and buckets, sequence risk, which accounts to tap first, RMDs, and annuitized income floors.
Money
Reverse mortgages
A reverse mortgage lets homeowners 62 and older turn home equity into cash with no monthly payments. How HECMs work in 2026, what they cost, the built-in protections, and when they help or hurt.
Money
Roth IRA
Roth IRAs turn after-tax contributions into tax-free retirement income: 2026 income limits, the five-year rules, withdrawal ordering, conversions and the backdoor Roth, and no lifetime RMDs.
Technology
Scams that target seniors
Older adults reported $7.7 billion in fraud losses to the FBI in 2025. The major scams aimed at seniors, the payment red flags that give them away, and how to report fraud and protect a parent.
Money
Senior discounts
Where senior discounts actually live and when they start: the federal lands pass at 62, Amtrak at 65, store days at 55, property tax relief and utility help, plus when the senior price is not the best price.
Money
Social Security
How Social Security works, from payroll taxes and work credits to benefit formulas, COLAs, spousal and survivor benefits, taxes on benefits, and the trust fund outlook, plus how to apply.
Money
Taxes in retirement
How Social Security, 401(k) withdrawals, Roth accounts, and capital gains are each taxed in 2026, plus the temporary senior deduction, state differences, IRMAA surcharges, and paying as you go.
Money
When to claim Social Security
Claiming Social Security at 62, at full retirement age, or at 70 changes your check permanently. The math behind each choice, how couples coordinate, and the mistakes that cost the most.
Money
Working while receiving Social Security
You can work and collect Social Security at the same time. Before full retirement age, an earnings test can temporarily withhold part of your benefit. The 2026 limits, worked examples, and why the money is not lost.