News Archive

"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 >>

"The revised special tax notice incorporates wording recommendations in the GAO report. The GAO report took issue with the old version not clarifying to participants that one of their options was to do nothing at all. In other words, participants may leave their balance in the retirement plan. In addition, the GAO report thought it would be clearer and more concise to list the four distribution options in the beginning with a brief description of the corresponding tax consequences. Both of these changes are included in the new IRS templates."  MORE >>

44 pages. "[The authors] compare household finance trajectories for individuals who later develop dementia and those who do not.... [W]ealth divergence between the two groups is not explained by reduced earnings, higher healthcare spending, intentional 'spend-down' to qualify for Medicaid coverage, state-dependent utility, or reverse causation by which wealth declines cause dementia.... [R]esults point to impaired financial decision-making beginning about six years prior to clinically recognizable dementia."  MORE >>

71 pages; Jan. 21, 2026. "Reminders: [1] Excise tax relief for certain 2024 required minimum distributions (RMDs).... [2] Income on corrective distributions of excess contributions.... [3] Modification of required distribution rules for designated beneficiaries.... [4] Simplified employee pension (SEP) and SIMPLE plans.... [5] Deemed IRAs.... [6] Statement of required minimum distribution (RMD).... [7] IRA interest.... [8] Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT)."  MORE >>

"The rumored Trump Administration proposal to permit savers to invest a portion of their 401(k) retirement accounts in their personal residences took a hit from the president himself on Thursday. In a press scrum aboard Air Force One ... the President said he's 'not a huge fan of it.' "  MORE >>

"The updated model notices don't reflect SECURE 2.0 changes that haven't taken effect yet, including the law's new Saver's Match contribution and the provision excluding from income certain disability-related payments to first responders (both provisions take effect after 2026). IRS anticipates updating the models again once these provisions take effect."  MORE >>

"[Notice 2026-13] contains updates to the ... section 402(f) mandatory participant notice (AKA the Special Tax Notice) ... There have been a number of changes to the IRC relating to distributions under [SECURE 2.0] ... [If] a participant is receiving a distribution that is part pre-tax and part Roth, both versions of the Notice must be provided. With the new required Roth Catch-up Contributions, most 401(k) and 403(b) plans may need to provide both versions of the Notice more often than in years past. (... Another reason to move to electronic forms.)"  MORE >>

"Successor beneficiaries (the beneficiary of a beneficiary) do NOT get to use any of their own personal information or status to dictate the payout structure of an inherited IRA. It does NOT matter who the successor beneficiary is or what the successor's relationship to the first beneficiary is.... The successor simply 'steps into the shoes' of the previous beneficiary and follows the exact same payout program that applied to the original Roth IRA beneficiary, with one exception[.]"  MORE >>

"President Donald Trump will announce affordability reforms, which will include permitting retirement plan investors to take penalty-free distributions for a down payment on a home ... Retirement savers are currently permitted to spend up to $10,000 from an IRA for a down payment on a home without a tax penalty, though they would owe ordinary income tax if applicable. Savers can also take a loan from their 401(k) to pay for a home. Permitting such distributions would likely require new legislation."  MORE >>

"The number of individuals making QCDs might be affected by recent tax law changes. The FY2025 budget reconciliation act (PL 119-21) expanded and made permanent the standard deduction included in the 2017 tax law (PL 115-97). A higher standard deduction might reduce the tax incentive for individuals to make charitable donations." [IF11377, updated Jan. 15, 2026]  MORE >>

46 pages; Nov 6, 2025; pub. Jan. 16, 2026. "Reminders: [1] Distributions to victims of domestic abuse.... [2] Distributions for emergency personal expenses.... [3] Transfers and rollovers of assets and the substantially equal payment method.... [4] The direct payment requirement for certain distributions for payment of health or long-term care insurance repealed."  MORE >>

62 pages; Jan. 15, 2026. "What's New for 2025: [1] IRA contribution limit for 2025.... [2] Trump account and new Form 4547.... [3] Modified AGI limit for traditional IRA contributions.... [4] Modified AGI limit for Roth IRA contributions.... What's New for 2026: [1] IRA contribution limit increased for 2026.... [2] Modified AGI limit for traditional IRA contributions increased.... [3] Modified AGI limit for Roth IRA contributions increased. "  MORE >>

"Recently finalized rules from the United States Postal Service seek to clarify that the date on a postmark does not 'necessarily represent either the place at which, or the date on which, the Postal Service first accepted possession of the mailpiece' ... [T]axpayers filing tax returns and other tax documents by traditional first-class mail, and to which a filing deadline applies, should adjust by mailing the document earlier, requesting and obtaining a manual postmark at a retail counter at the time of mailing, and/or obtaining a certificate of mailing at such time. Failing to do so runs the risk that a return, payment, or other document that is timely turned over to USPS will be postmarked after the filing or due date, with associated and sometimes significant financial consequences. "  MORE >>