"After decades of urging discipline, restraint, and delayed gratification, we're now concerned that retirees are too disciplined -- that they're depriving themselves of the very retirement they spent a lifetime preparing for.... The industry's current 'solution'? If they won't buy [an annuity] on their own -- and if plan fiduciaries are (still) hesitant to put it on the menu -- well, let's default them into it -- by embedding it in a target-date fund or managed account." MORE >>
"In practice, advisors typically begin with the client's target retirement date, and then adjust levers such as withdrawal rates, asset allocation, and spending flexibility to make the plan work. But when the retirement date is treated as fixed, an important part of the planning problem may be left unexamined: whether the timing of retirement itself is helping or hurting the plan from the outset." MORE >>
"Like the documentation that was previously required for hardship distributions, the documentation needed to substantiate principal residence loans is highly variable, non- standardized, and often difficult to collect and submit in a timely fashion.... [U]pdated guidance on principal residence loans would help to reduce administrative burdens and costs for plans and participants ... This could also reduce leakage, since a participant who cannot take a plan loan expeditiously may instead take a withdrawal[.]" MORE >>
"Most older Americans want Congress to 'save Social Security (and Medicare).' Many of those individuals believe (hope) that Congress will not reduce their benefits, but will, instead, save the system through increased revenue, from some source that will presumably not negatively affect them. And maybe this will be what happens, or maybe not. It is arguably more prudent and conservative to assume some level of benefit cuts will occur than to assume none." MORE >>
34 pages; Mar. 19, 2026. "What's New ... [1] New box 10, 'Family leave benefits,' was added to Form 1099-G to facilitate the reporting of family leave benefits paid by state paid family and medical leave programs.... [2] Form 1099-R ... was revised to include new check boxes 7b for IRA, SEP, and SIMPLE plans, check box 7c for Trump Account reporting, and new box 7d for reporting earnings on excess contributions.... [3] Form 5498-TA, Trump Account Contribution Information, and Form 1099-LPS, Long-Term Care Premiums Paid Statement, are currently under development and projected to be released in mid-2026 for tax year 2026/filing season 2027." MORE >>
"Retirees often rely on simple, hands-off spending strategies ... These approaches require little engagement or complex decision-making and may result in suboptimal spending.... Goal-setting may be the missing driver, where retirees may need new or renewed goals in retirement to motivate more-engaged spending decisions." MORE >>
"Medicare Part B premiums, which cover doctors and hospital outpatient services, will rise to about $5,000 a year by 2035, up from about $2,440, according to a recent report by the Senate Joint Economic Committee.... Part of the expected increase in Medicare Part B premiums -- or about $450 a year of the projected $5,000 a year premium -- would be due to overpayments made by the government to Medicare Advantage plans, the report said." MORE >>
"These projects reflect priorities that guide DOL's enforcement activities, which are conducted by investigators in the agency's regional and district offices. This article provides an overview of areas of focus for retirement plans, which include cybersecurity, retirement asset management, and protection of benefit distributions." MORE >>
"83% of retirees who have money in an IRA account will not take their money out until they're forced to at the RMD age ... The number-one reason is they don't want to pay ... ordinary income on their deductible retirement accounts.... [W]hat would happen if we incentivize that money to come out of these accounts sooner, if we made it easier? ... [T]rillions of dollars would come out of these retirement accounts.... [R]etirees would ... either move it into a taxable account, leave the investments that they're already in and pay the flat tax, or some of that money would get loosened up." MORE >>
"While it is true that annuities can't be a standalone default option, it is not legally correct to suggest that they can't be part of a default option ... In fact, the DOL has specifically ruled that ... a QDIA can include an insured income guarantee as a part of a qualified default investment alternative. The QDIA could, for example, be a managed account with an annuity or GLWB component, or a target-date fund with a GLWB." MORE >>
"Roth accounts are the most tax advantageous in retirement, followed by a taxable brokerage account and traditional tax-deferred assets.... Retirees should be careful if they have taxable assets with a really low cost basis. For a lot of households, postretirement, pre-Social Security, and pre-RMD years can be very low-tax years, where you can accelerate withdrawals from a traditional IRA at an advantageous tax rate." MORE >>
35 pages; Feb. 27, 2026. "What's New ... [1] New box 10, 'Family leave benefits,' was added to Form 1099-G to facilitate the reporting of family leave benefits paid by state paid family and medical leave programs.... [2] Form 1099-R ... was revised to include new check boxes 7b for IRA, SEP, and SIMPLE plans, check box 7c for Trump Account reporting, and new box 7d for reporting earnings on excess contributions.... [3] Form 5498-TA, Trump Account Contribution Information, and Form 1099-LPS, Long-Term Care Premiums Paid Statement, are currently under development and projected to be released in mid-2026 for tax year 2026/filing season 2027." MORE >>
"Mr. Kitces proposes that Monte Carlo modeling using probability of success scores should still be developed, but the success scores should actually be withheld from clients and re-interpreted.... A much simpler and straightforward solution is to use an approach like the Actuarial Approach that compares household assets to spending liabilities." MORE >>
"A U.S. resident born in 2024 has an average life expectancy of 79, up more than a half-year from 2023 ... For plan sponsors and advisers, that translates into a potential distribution horizon of at least 20 to 30 years. Without incorporating realistic longevity assumptions into glide path design, withdrawal strategies and income solutions, participants face a heightened risk of outliving their savings." MORE >>
"Following annual portfolio loss, don't fully adjust your withdrawal rate for inflation.... Take withdrawals in line with required minimum distributions.... Implement guardrails on your portfolio.... Assume spending declines in line with historical data.... Take a fixed percentage of your portfolio each year.... Take a constant percentage of your portfolio's 10-year average value.... Apply probability-based guardrails to your withdrawals.... Use the Vanguard dynamic spending method." MORE >>
"For many retirees, spending more at the beginning of retirement is a top priority. And after spending decades working and saving, retirement can be the perfect time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Starting with a more generous withdrawal rate can make a meaningful difference in spending early in retirement, when retirees are more likely to be healthy, active, and able to enjoy travel, dining out, concerts, and the like." MORE >>
32 pages. "Retirees who received a lump sum report an average balance of around $100,000.... The pace of depletion has accelerated over time: in 2017, retirees who depleted their lump sum did so in 5½ years, on average; by 2022, that timeframe had shortened to 5 years; and, today, lump sums are being depleted in just 4½ years. This rapid drawdown leaves many retirees vulnerable, especially given that those with remaining funds estimate they have only 11 years of money left on average -- far short of the 20-plus years many will spend in retirement" MORE >>
Rev. Dec. 2025; 85 pages. "This publication gives you the information you need to determine the tax treatment of your pension and annuity income under the General Rule.... The General Rule is one of the two methods used to figure the tax-free part of each annuity payment based on the ratio of your investment in the contract to the total expected return." MORE >>
"In response to recommendations from the [GAO], the IRS has made the new model notices easier for participants to read and is urging plans to make each notice available as soon as possible before the distribution date so the participant can make educated decisions about whether to receive or roll over the distribution.... Plan administrators that use the safe-harbor notice should switch to the new model notices as soon as possible." MORE >>
"In this article [the authors] explain why postmarks matter to retirement plans, clarifications in the final rule, and what plan administrative changes may be needed to ensure mail is timely postmarked, and [they] list the operational items plan sponsors and their advisors may need to review and potentially adjust going forward." MORE >>
"The updated models incorporate recent legislative changes ... [and] also include changes intended to make the 402(f) notice clearer and more concise.... Plan administrators may customize the updated models to [1] omit any information that does not apply to the relevant plan and/or [2] provide any additional information so long as the information is consistent with IRS rules." MORE >>
"For the 2025 Form 1040, the IRS has added new lines 4c and 5c, which mostly contain boxes to be checked instead of having to write in a code on the form. Line 4c includes a box for 'Rollover' (Box 1), another for 'QCD' (Box 2), and a blank box (Box 3).... Line 5c includes a box for 'Rollover' (Box 1), another for 'PSO' (Box 2), and a blank box (Box 3). Box 3 should be checked and a word or code should be entered next to Box 3 if another IRS instruction requires it." MORE >>
"The IRS and Treasury Department encourage plans to customize a safe harbor explanation by omitting any information that does not apply to the plan. This article highlights the changes that qualified governmental plans should consider making to their Special Tax Notices." MORE >>
"Many households have complicated financial situations and may own properties, businesses, collectibles and other assets that they would like to use for retirement, but these assets may not be easily valued or artificially 'converted' into income. If you have any of these types of assets, you may wish to ... use the Actuarial Financial Planner workbooks to value your hard-to-value assets and include them in your Funded Status calculation." MORE >>
"[1] Equalize by default ... [2] Pensions are more complicated ... [3] Sometimes, 'equitable' may not seem fair ... [4] Beware failure to disclose ... [6] Think big picture." MORE >>
