Yearfold journal
Field notes on planning a real retirement
The Yearfold journal is honest, sourced writing about retirement planning under 2026 federal rules — the post-OBBBA tax brackets, the post-SECURE 2.0 RMD ages, the Social Security taxability thresholds that haven’t moved since 1993, and the Medicare IRMAA tiers that move every year. Every post is written by Yearfold’s founder, every load-bearing number traces to a primary source (IRS, SSA, CMS, Congressional Research Service, FRED), and every page carries the date it was last reviewed against those primary sources.
What you won’t find here: pump-and-dump stock picks, advisor-affiliate funnels, or generic “invest in low-cost index funds” restated for the thousandth time. What you will find: the math behind the 4% rule’s actual claim and its limits, when a Roth conversion ladder pays and when it costs more than it saves, what 2026 brackets really look like after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, how the Social Security “tax torpedo” reshapes a middle-income retiree’s real marginal rate, and what Monte Carlo simulation actually means when a calculator claims to use it.
July 29, 2026 · Mindaugas Laucius
2026 401(k) & IRA Contribution Limits: The Super Catch-Up Most 60–63-Year-Olds Miss
The 2026 401(k) limit rises to $24,500 and the IRA limit to $7,500 — but the age 60–63 super catch-up and a new Roth catch-up rule for high earners are the real story.
retirement-savings · 401k · ira · contribution-limits · secure-2.0 · taxes
June 5, 2026 · Mindaugas Laucius
Is $500K Enough to Retire On? An Honest Answer
For some households, $500,000 is comfortably enough to retire on. For others it isn't close. The difference is almost never the $500K — it's three other numbers: your spending gap after Social Security, your age and claim timing, and your household shape. Here's the honest math, with worked examples.
enough-to-retire · 500k · retirement-savings · social-security · early-retirement