Retirement benefits

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.

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.

Employees gently prodded on retirement contributions can come out ahead.

Employees often don’t save enough, and few utilize auto-escalation.

Employers need to help their workers understand and prepare for additional medical charges when they stop working.

Women are spending fewer years being married, new research finds, a change that “has significant implications for financial planning.”

With the goal of improved participant outcomes, a simplified approach using straightforward language could be more attractive to employees.

Participants don’t need a million choices to save successfully for retirement.

The sheer number of modest, inactive 401(k)s — along with the friction in the industry that makes it difficult to seamlessly transfer the balances from plan to plan as participants change jobs — is causing a lot of undue stress.

Plan sponsors must continue to offer automatic plan features and do a better job of vetting target-date funds.

Workers 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 sheer number of modest, inactive 401(k)s — along with the friction in the industry that makes it difficult to seamlessly transfer the balances from plan to plan as participants change jobs — is causing a lot of undue stress.

Employees often don’t save enough, and few utilize auto-escalation.

A new survey looks at trends in fees and investment options — and shows there’s lots of room for improvement.

Plan sponsors must continue to offer automatic plan features and do a better job of vetting target-date funds.

With the goal of improved participant outcomes, a simplified approach using straightforward language could be more attractive to employees.

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.

Companies need to do a better job of offering opportunities, such as flexible work arrangements, to employees who want to stay on the job longer.