-Darren Leavitt, CFA Financial markets advanced this week as a solid start to the fourth-quarter earnings season, and some better-than-feared inflation data gave investors a reason to buy the most recent dip. The financial sector gained 6.1% on the week as bank...
Most Americans may consider the standard retirement age to be 65, but the so-called “full retirement age” for Social Security is already older than that — and it’s about to hit an even higher age in 2025. Social Security’s full retirement age...
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst QUESTION: My wife has two after-tax traditional IRAs at two separate institutions. We are hoping to consolidate them, then convert to a Roth in the next 18 months. She is already retired. She also has an inherited IRA (from her...
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst One of the more controversial rules in the 2022 SECURE 2.0 Act is the requirement that plan catch-up contributions by certain highly-paid employees be made on a Roth basis. Last Friday, (January 10, 2025) the IRS issued proposed...
We are two weeks into 2025. Have you been following through on your New Year’s resolutions? As our readers already know, for an IRA owner not to follow through on his or her annual check up of beneficiary forms could have dire consequences. Repeat after me: In 2025, I...
-Darren Leavitt, CFA US equity markets fell in the first full week of 2025 as investors recalibrated their Federal Reserve monetary policy expectations. Stronger labor data, a robust ISM Services print, and a weaker Consumer Sentiment report showing increased...
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: I am planning for a required minimum distribution (RMD) from both my IRA and 403(b) plan for 2026, my first RMD year. I am in the third year of a 10-year period in which I am rolling over 10% of my 403(b) funds each year to my...
These new rules could make it easier for you to save more money for retirement Participating in a 401(k) plan where you work is a smart way to invest for retirement. Plus, your employer may match some or all of the money you contribute. In 2025 the rules for 401(k)s...
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst When the ball dropped in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, a number of new retirement account provisions became effective. We’ve previously written about each of these new rules in The Slott Report. This article will serve as a checklist,...
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The year 2025 is upon us! There is no doubt that this will be an eventful time for retirement accounts. As the new year kicks off, here is what we are talking about now at the Slott Report. 1. Increased...
-Darren Leavitt, CFA The final trading sessions for 2024 extended losses from the prior week, but the S&P 500 and NASDAQ still posted impressive gains for the year, 23.3% and 28.6%, respectively. The so-called Santa Clause Rally did not appear for the second...
How Secure 2.0 and inflation adjustments will affect retirement savers and spenders. For retirement savers, the ringing in of the new year will bring more than the usual inflation adjustments to retirement contributions. The retirement legislation known as Secure 2.0...
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: Hello, Our daughter (age 50) is the sole beneficiary of her husband’s (age 52) IRA due to his death in April 2024. Is there a time limit for when she must either take ownership or roll it...
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst I counted them. This year the Slott Report published 101 blog articles. While other sites add “pay-for-content” firewalls, we continue to pump out incredibly valuable and important information, week after week, totally free...
-Darren Leavitt, CFA Market action was mixed in a holiday-shortened week of trade. The Santa Clause rally, which runs for the last five trading sessions of the year through the first two trading sessions of the New Year, kicked off with gains from mega-cap...
Key Takeaways A recent Gallup poll showed most Americans feel they are worse off today than four years ago. Data on household finances show that things have changed dramatically since September 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting the economy. Americans have...
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst This is the time of year for good cheer and holiday wishes. In keeping with those traditions, here are some cheers and wishes for the IRS and Congress: Cheers to the IRS: Yes, it did take the IRS 4½ years to issue final required...
-Darren Leavitt, CFA Equity and fixed-income markets sold off for the second consecutive week as the Federal Reserve delivered an expected twenty-five basis-point rate cut but pivoted to a much more hawkish stance for 2025, where the committee now expects only two...
Key Takeaways An Employee Benefit Research Institute survey found that more than two-thirds of retirees had outstanding credit card debt in 2024, up from 40% in 2022. Even though inflation has cooled, high prices weigh on retirees. Almost a third of retirees said they...
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst QUESTION: If a client opens an IRA at age 75 and makes a contribution this year, this account would not have a required minimum distribution (RMD) for 2024, correct? Since the IRA did not exist last year, there is no...
