Wallcrest Retirement Desk
Pensions, 401(k) and IRA mechanics, drawdown strategy and the longevity maths behind them.
If your workplace retirement plan holds employer stock, a lesser-known IRS rule can shift part of your tax bill from ordinary income rates to capital gains rates.
Wallcrest Retirement Desk · 1m ago · 4 min read
Substantially equal periodic payments let you access IRA or 401(k) money before age 59½, but the rules are strict and mistakes can be costly.
1m ago · 4 min
Notice 2026-51, carried in the bulletin dated September 14, sets both numbers. One is a spot rate. The other is a 24-month average dragged into a statutory corridor.
1m ago · 3 min
A proposed rule under section 430 would keep investment-related expenses out of target normal cost, set a $5,000 itemisation threshold for mixed service bills, and add an anti-abuse test for mid-year amendments.
1m ago · 3 min
The proposal also creates a new ten-business-day hold that applies to every customer, not just those over 65. Comments close September 30.
1m ago · 5 min
A spouse or ex-spouse can claim a Social Security benefit worth up to half of the other person's full retirement benefit, but timing and marital history change the math.
1m ago · 5 min
The SECURE 2.0 Roth catch-up requirement took effect for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025. The final regulations published in September 2025 generally apply only to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026, leaving 2026 governed by a reasonable, good-faith standard.
1m ago · 5 min
A once-obscure retirement account option got a major makeover from the SECURE 2.0 Act and 2024 IRS regulations, making it easier to shelter savings from required withdrawals while insuring against running out of money late in life.
1m ago · 4 min
The GAO reviewed the privacy disclosures behind $9 trillion of defined-contribution savings and found no clear rule on who may use participant information. Its recommendation to the Labor Department is still open.
1m ago · 3 min
Announcement 2026-15 sets the dates for pre-approved defined contribution plans: adoption by September 30, 2028, and a determination-letter window that opens October 1, 2026.
1m ago · 3 min
Notice 2026-49 proposes two standard forms and a tracking number for direct rollovers between plans and IRAs. Using them is optional for plan sponsors.
1m ago · 2 min
Notice 2026-48 sets out the mechanics of the federal Saver's Match: 50% of the first $2,000 contributed, up to $1,000, paid into a retirement account rather than claimed as a credit. Comments close October 5.
1m ago · 3 min
A proposed rule rewrites how single-employer defined benefit plans count expenses and late amendments in their minimum funding calculation. Employers can rely on it now, before it is final.
1m ago · 4 min
The annual raise is not a judgment call. It comes out of a formula that compares one three-month average of a specific price index to another. One of this year's three months is now on the board.
1m ago · 3 min
Two portfolios can average the same return over twenty years and leave one retiree solvent and the other not.
1m ago · 7 min
A little-known Social Security Administration surcharge ties Medicare Part B and Part D premiums directly to income reported on a tax return filed two years earlier.
1m ago · 3 min
One converts a pot into a guaranteed income for life. The other keeps the pot invested and leaves you carrying the risks.
3h ago · 6 min
