Retirement benefits

The legislation nullifies a strategy that previously allowed heirs to stretch an inherited account's tax-deferred growth based on their life expectancy.

The legislation includes a provision that would raise the age limit for making contributions and taking required minimum distributions.

Retirees should live a frugal, flexible lifestyle and consider buying insurance to cover big ticket items.

Living a luxurious lifestyle for less is a possibility — provided retirees are willing to move overseas.

They can do research by visiting funeral homes to get a better understanding of cost and burial details.

Be sure to check if the original owner has started taking minimum distributions to ensure clients make the right decisions.

Many older workers don’t know they are allowed to take penalty-free withdrawals from their 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plans.

An average couple aged 65 who are about to retire this year will need $285,000 to cover healthcare expenses.

A lump-sum distribution for net unrealized appreciation on employer stock can slash a tax bill in half, but there’s plenty of fine print.

With income taxes attached to hardship withdrawals, they are often advised to carefully weigh other options.

The approved legislation relaxes rules for retirement savers.

Seniors who hold retirement savings in various assets should develop a tax-efficient withdrawal strategy.

Lawmakers are poised to merge two bills that would make it easier for workers to save for retirement.

They are not required to pay taxes on income accrued from properties leased for no more than 14 days.

With accounts now often reaching seven figures, estate planning expert Natalie Choate delved into the complexity of the increasingly important tool.

In one case, a 6-year-old owed $7,000 in federal taxes two years after his father, a U.S. Navy senior chief petty officer, died of a heart attack.

Seniors in this position may face a tax bill and possibly a penalty if they dip into their 401(k) prematurely, says an expert.

The S&P 500 bottomed in March 2009, but clients have since seen a huge boost in their retirement savings.

With longer life expectancies leading to increased health care spending later in life, experts are second-guessing the 10% savings rule.

“People didn’t want to use up their estate tax exemption,” but that has changed as a result of the new law, an expert says.