Retirement benefits

IRA balances are up, and so are divorces, particularly among baby boomers. These so-called gray divorces have roughly doubled over the past 25 years, according to the Pew Research Center.

The Internal Revenue Service granted additional relief to victims of Hurricane Harvey on Wednesday by making it easier for 401(k)s and other employer-sponsored retirement plans to give loans and hardship distributions to aid victims.

Hurricane Harvey provides a grim reminder of how traumatic it can be to face the effects of severe weather. Here’s how to be effective if it happens to your clients.

Retirees are likely to have fewer choices when they start shopping around for Medicare Advantage plans during the open-enrollment period that begins October 15.

The real concern is not just that actively managed funds could disappear but that the entire market could be left for dead.

Clients ready to quit the workforce in advance need to understand the impact of doing so on their Social Security benefits, Michael Kitces writes.

Not tapping tax-deferred retirement accounts until the age of 70 1/2 can be a wrong move, as required minimum distributions can be big enough to push retirees to a higher tax bracket.

Clients should start shoring up their savings by chipping in as much as they reasonably can to their employer’s retirement plan, especially if it comes with a matching contribution.

The amount that can be transferred is equivalent to the HSA's annual contribution limit, which is $3,400 for singles and $6,750 for couples.

These two accounts are both funded with money that has already been taxed, but there are still important differences that clients need to know.

Making excess withdrawals could result in taxes on the earnings and a hefty 10% penalty.

Retirees who under-reported their income to avoid taxes will also get smaller retirement benefits than they deserve.

Retirees should weigh a number of factors, including the fact that the closing costs for reverse mortgages are higher than those for regular mortgages.

IRA investors should consider implementing a charitable lead annuity trust when converting some of their funds into Roth to mitigate the tax bite.

The withdrawals can be taken early in the year, late in the year or in installments throughout the year. Each approach has advantages to consider.

Congress may have a difficult time closing tax code loopholes that benefit households more than corporations, an expert suggests.

How an advisor's blog about the Piano Man reaped a $14,000 Social Security payday for her client.

Recent graduates tend to be in a low tax bracket early in their careers when it pays for them to save as much as they can in a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k), writes an industry expert.

The total out-of-pocket health care expenses of a 65-year-old couple in retirement could exceed $320,000, plus 5% annual increases.

Planning may help high-income seniors avoid paying up to four times the going rate for Part B and Part D coverage.