#retirement-accounts
6 articles
The $108,000 IRA-to-Charity Move That Can Save More on Medicare Than on Your Tax Bill
A Qualified Charitable Distribution keeps donated RMD dollars out of your AGI entirely — which matters more than the direct tax savings once Medicare IRMAA and Social Security taxability enter the picture.
The Stretch IRA Is Dead. Here's What Replaced It for the 10-Year Window
SECURE Act 2019 forced non-spouse heirs to empty an inherited IRA within 10 years. We compared equal-annual, lump-year-1, and lump-year-10 withdrawal strategies on the same balance.
The FIRE Community's Favorite Tax Bet: Pay 12% Now to Avoid 24% Later
A Roth conversion ladder converts traditional IRA funds to Roth during a low-income year, betting your future marginal rate will be higher than today's. The classic case: the gap years between early retirement and Social Security.
A $10,000 401(k) Contribution at a 22% Marginal Rate Only Costs About $7,800 of Real Take-Home Pay
The IRS quietly co-pays part of every pre-tax contribution by letting it escape your marginal bracket. We ran the two-timescale math: this year's tax saving, and what that same dollar grows into by retirement.
An HSA Is the Only Account With a Triple Tax Advantage — Here's Why the 'Stealth Roth' Strategy Usually Wins
Pre-tax in, tax-free growth, tax-free out for medical expenses — no other account structure offers all three. For long horizons, paying medical costs out of pocket and letting the HSA compound often beats spending it as you go.
The Roth vs Traditional Decision Comes Down to One Number: Will Your Tax Rate Be 5+ Points Different in Retirement?
Both accounts grow tax-advantaged. The winner depends entirely on comparing today's marginal rate against your expected retirement rate — and the honest comparison has to include what a Traditional saver does with the tax savings.