Learning Center
What changed, and whether it changes anything for you
Rules move without asking. Most of the time the honest answer is that a headline does not touch your money at all — so that is the first thing each explainer tells you, before any of the detail.
Retirement Accounts
12 entriesRoth, traditional, 401(k), 403(b) and IRA. Which account you use decides how much of your own money you keep, and most of the difference comes down to when the tax is paid.
Taxes in Retirement
10 entriesRetirement does not end your tax return. Which account you draw from first, which state you live in and when you convert all change the bill — and all three are decisions you still control.
Medicare & Social Security
9 entriesTwo programs with rules that reward timing. When you claim, and what your income looked like two years ago, decide what you receive and what you pay.
Employer Benefits
10 entriesThe match, the vesting schedule and the pension. Most of what an employer contributes is decided by a formula you can read — and a date you can look up before you resign.
Estate & Inheritance
12 entriesWhat passes to the people you name, how long it takes and what it costs them. Most of it is decided by a beneficiary form, not by a will.
Government Updates
2 entriesNew rules, agency announcements and IRS guidance — and, more to the point, whether they change anything for you.
September 29, 2026
The IRS just closed an ETF tax move. It is not the one you own.
If you buy, hold or sell ETFs in a brokerage account, IRA or 401(k), nothing changes. The ruling targets a specific arrangement used to move a large, highly appreciated stock position into a newly formed ETF without paying capital gains tax.
September 29, 2026
America.gov launched. Here is what it can and cannot do for you.
Nothing about your Social Security, Medicare or IRS account changed. Today America.gov is a search tool that tells you how to do something and sends you to the agency to do it. Completing forms through the site is a 2027 target.
Written by Paul Mauro, a 50-year veteran of the financial industry. These explainers are educational and are not tax, legal or investment advice. Check anything that affects your own return or benefits with a qualified professional.