Education Center

How much money do I need to save up to retire comfortably? This is a commonly asked question, one that I get fairly often. My response is that it depends on your monthly living expenses in retirement. This answer typically triggers a follow-up question: How do I plan for these future expenses when I don’t know how much they will be?

This may come as a surprise, but Social Security benefits are not completely tax-free. Your income in retirement will determine how much of your Social Security benefits are subject to tax. You may have retirement income from a pension, retirement accounts, or you have a part-time job to keep you busy.

Employers that offer a 401(k)-retirement plan may also allow employees to invest their account in their employer's stock. Over time, as the employer's stock does well, employees may find themselves with a large portion of their retirement portfolio invested in their company's stock.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 significantly changed the federal estate and gift tax exemption. The exemption amount went from $5,490,000 in 2017 to $11,180,000 in 2018. This limit is indexed for inflation and currently sits at $13,610,000 in 2024.