Still Working Past 73? How to Legally Delay Your 401(k) RMDs Until You Retire
The IRS still-working exception lets non-5% owners delay 401(k) RMDs past 73 until retirement — but only from a current employer plan that allows it.
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Retirement Planning
Retirement planning for the self-employed and small business owners, comparing Solo 401(k) and SEP-IRA plans, including 2026 contribution limits, employee deferrals, employer profit sharing, catch-up rules, Roth options under SECURE 2.0, and plan setup deadlines
MYGAs, Explained: The CD Alternative Paying More With Tax Deferral
A MYGA is a CD from an insurer: ~1 point higher fixed yield, tax-deferred growth, but surrender charges, no FDIC, and a 10% IRS penalty before 59½.
Your Living Trust Owns Nothing Until You Fund It
An unfunded living trust controls nothing — retitle real estate, accounts, and business interests into it, and back it with a pour-over will.
Form W-4P in 2026: Stop Letting the Wrong Default Shrink Your Pension Check
Form W-4P defaults new pension payments to single status with no adjustments, not 10%. Check the Step 1 box to elect zero IRS withholding.
Robo-Advisors vs. Human Advisors: A Small Business Owner's Guide to Fees, Fiduciary Duty, and When Automation Makes Sense
A 1% AUM fee costs roughly 24% of a 30-year balance versus 7% at 0.25% — pick a robo, hybrid, or human fiduciary by your business stage, not by price alone.
The October 15 SEP IRA Second Chance: Fund Last Year's Retirement and Cut Last Year's Taxes
Extended your 2025 return? You can still open and fund a SEP IRA by October 15, 2026 (September 15 for S corps and partnerships) and deduct up to $70,000 — but Solo 401(k) elective deferrals for 2025 are gone for good.
Still Funding Your HSA After 65? How Medicare's Six-Month Lookback Turns Legal Contributions Into Excess Contributions
Enrolling in Medicare Part A after age 65 backdates coverage up to six months, turning HSA contributions made during that window into excess contributions subject to a 6% yearly excise tax. This guide covers the 2026 prorated limits, the Form 5329 penalty, how to withdraw the excess before the filing deadline, and the six-months-ahead shutdown plan.
The Rule of 55: Tapping Your 401(k) Early Without the 10% Penalty
Separate from your employer during or after the calendar year you turn 55 and distributions from that employer's 401(k) escape the 10% early-withdrawal penalty — but not ordinary income tax, and not a rollover into an IRA. How the separation-from-service exception works, the age-50 public safety version, the 20% withholding haircut, and the five mistakes that forfeit it.
What's Inside Your 401(k)'s Default Fund? How Target-Date Funds Pick Your Investments, and the Fees to Compare
Target-date funds hold about $4.9 trillion and are the default in 99% of the auto-enrollment 401(k) plans Vanguard tracks. Here is how glide paths, "to" versus "through" designs, and expense ratios shape your retirement balance, plus a 15-minute checkup for savers and the fiduciary duties for owners who sponsor a plan.
IRMAA for Business Owners: The Two-Year Lookback, the 2026 Medicare Brackets, and the SSA-44 Appeal
Medicare's IRMAA surcharge sets your 2026 Part B and Part D premiums from your 2024 tax return, and crossing a bracket by one dollar triggers the full tier — up to roughly $14,000 a year above standard premiums for a couple. Here is how business sales, Roth conversions and RMDs trigger it, the 2026 thresholds, and how to file Form SSA-44 after retirement or another qualifying life-changing event.
The Small-Business Retirement Wave: How to Build an Exit Buyers Will Actually Pay For
A March 2026 survey of about 1,000 U.S. small business owners found 40% expect to retire within a decade while 70% have no formal succession plan. Buyers price a small business on seller's discretionary earnings times a 2x–4x multiple, discounted for owner dependency, customer concentration and unreliable books. This guide lays out a six-part, three-to-five-year plan — two target numbers, three years of clean financials, operational replaceability, risk de-concentration, a deliberate exit path (third-party sale, family succession, management buyout or ESOP), and a reverse-built timeline with a CPA and attorney — plus the three mistakes that shrink exits.
Working While Collecting Social Security in 2026: What the Earnings Test Takes From Your Checks
In 2026 the Social Security retirement earnings test withholds $1 of benefits for every $2 earned above $24,480 before full retirement age, and $1 for every $3 above $65,160 in the year you reach FRA. Wages and net self-employment profit count; pensions, IRA withdrawals, dividends, and rental income do not — and withheld benefits are credited back through a higher monthly check at FRA.