Guides & Insights
In-depth articles to help you make better financial decisions — backed by the same math our calculators use.
Your 2027 Social Security Raise Just Got Smaller — and Medicare Is About to Eat a Fifth of It. Here's the Net-Check Math Before October
Six weeks ago the 2027 cost-of-living adjustment was tracking near 4.7%. After June's cooler inflation report, the leading forecasters have quietly marked it down to a range of 3.6% to 3.8% — and the official number won't land until mid-October, after the July, August and September CPI-W readings are in. On a 3.7% raise, the average retirement benefit climbs from about $1,937 a month to roughly $2,011, a gain of about $74. But that's the gross number. The 2027 Medicare Part B premium is projected to jump to around $218.60 from $202.90, and because Part B is deducted straight from your check, roughly $15.70 of that raise vanishes before it reaches your bank account — leaving a net increase closer to $58. This is a what-it-means-for-you breakdown of how the 2027 COLA is actually calculated, the exact math on your net check, the hold-harmless rule that protects you from a decrease, and the three things worth checking before the October announcement.
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A New 2026 Rule Just Rerouted Your 401(k) Catch-Up Into a Roth — If You Earned Over $150,000 Last Year, Here's the Tax Bill You Didn't Vote For
A quiet change buried in the SECURE 2.0 Act went live on January 1, 2026, and it flips a benefit millions of older, higher-paid workers have leaned on for years. If your 2025 FICA wages from a single employer topped $150,000, your 401(k) 'catch-up' contribution — up to $8,000, or $11,250 if you're 60 to 63 — can no longer go in pre-tax. It must now be made as a Roth contribution with after-tax dollars, and the switch is all-or-nothing: one dollar over the line and the whole catch-up loses its deduction. For a worker in the 24% bracket that's roughly $1,920 in extra federal tax this year on an $8,000 catch-up, and about $3,600 for a 60-something maxing the $11,250 super catch-up at 32%. The rule isn't optional, most people affected have no idea it applies to them, and the fix depends on your plan offering a Roth bucket at all. Here's exactly what changed, the one number that decides whether it hits you, and the moves to make before your next paycheck.
→ 401(k) & Roth Catch-Up Contribution CalculatorYour 2027 Social Security Raise Is Shrinking Before It Arrives. Here's the 3.8% COLA Math — and the Medicare Trap That Eats Half of It
Fresh estimates released in mid-July 2026 peg next year's Social Security cost-of-living adjustment at about 3.8% — up from the 2.8% raise beneficiaries got this January, but already down from the 4.7% some analysts floated just a month ago as inflation cools. On paper, 3.8% adds roughly $74 to the average $1,938 monthly check, lifting it past $2,000 for the first time. In practice, a chunk of that raise never reaches your bank account: rising Medicare Part B premiums are deducted first, and the COLA is calculated on a price index that undercounts what retirees actually spend. Here's how the number is built, why the 'raise' feels smaller every year, and the three moves that matter more than the COLA itself.
→ Retirement Savings CalculatorTurned 50 and Earn Over $150K? Your 401(k) Catch-Up Went Roth-Only in 2026 — Here's What to Do About It
A quiet SECURE 2.0 rule flipped on January 1, 2026, and it changes the tax math for millions of older savers. If you're 50 or older and your prior-year FICA wages from your employer topped $150,000, every catch-up dollar you add to your 401(k) this year must now go in Roth — after-tax — instead of the pre-tax bucket you may have used for decades. That's up to $8,000 (or $11,250 if you're 60 to 63) that no longer trims your taxable income the way it used to. Worse, if your plan doesn't offer a Roth option, you may not be able to make catch-up contributions at all in 2026. Here's exactly who the rule hits, the real dollars-and-cents trade-off, and the five-minute check to make sure you don't accidentally forfeit the most valuable savings years of your career.
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Inherited an IRA? 2026 Is the Year the IRS Starts Charging 25% for the Withdrawal You Didn't Know You Owed
The SECURE Act quietly killed the 'stretch IRA' back in 2019, but for four years the IRS waived the penalty on the annual withdrawals its replacement created. That grace period is over. In 2026, most non-spouse heirs who inherited a traditional IRA from someone already taking distributions must pull a required amount every single year of the 10-year window — not just empty the account by the end. Skip it and the excise tax is 25% of what you should have withdrawn. Here's who's actually on the hook, the two-part test that trips up nearly everyone, and how to run the numbers before December 31.
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Turning 73 This Year? Your First RMD Has a December 31 Clock — and Missing It Costs 25%
If you were born in 1953, 2026 is the year the IRS stops letting your traditional 401(k) and IRA grow untouched. Required minimum distributions kick in at age 73, the math is unforgiving — a $2.5 million balance triggers a $94,340 withdrawal, about $7,862 a month, whether you need the cash or not — and skipping it carries a 25% penalty. Here's what the 2026 rules actually require, where the hidden tax traps hide, and the two legal moves that shrink the bill.
→ Retirement Savings CalculatorSocial Security's Run-Out Date Just Slid to 2032 — Here's What It Actually Does to Your Check
The 2026 Trustees Report moved the retirement trust fund's depletion date up to late 2032, a quarter earlier than last year's estimate. But 'depletion' doesn't mean zero — it means an automatic 17% haircut on every check unless Congress acts. Here's what the real numbers say and how to plan around the gap instead of panicking over it.
→ Social Security Benefits Calculator
Your 2026 Retirement Limits Just Went Up — and One New Rule Changes How High Earners Save
The IRS lifted the 401(k) cap to $24,500 and the IRA cap to $7,500 for 2026. But the bigger story is a SECURE 2.0 mandate that, starting this year, forces 50-and-older workers earning over $145,000 to route catch-up contributions into Roth dollars. Here is what every number means for your paycheck.
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Your FIRE Number: How to Calculate Financial Independence
The 4% rule is just the start. Learn how to calculate your personal FIRE number and the variables that shift it significantly.
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