Claire Ng
Retirement Columnist
Claire Ng covers retirement for Yield Update. She writes about retirement accounts, contribution limits and withdrawal rules, and about how savers can make the most of the plans available to them.
Stories
- Personal FinanceExplainer
How a Spot Bitcoin ETF Works, and What 'Net Withdrawals' Mean
A spot bitcoin fund holds the coin itself and changes its share count as money comes in and goes out. Seven straight sessions of withdrawals through Nov. 13 show how that looks in practice.
- Personal FinanceExplainer
Why a Winning Week May Not Show Up in Your 401(k) Statement
The S&P 500 rose 2.5 percent this week but fell on Friday. A retirement statement reports a balance on one date, and it mixes new contributions with investment returns.
- Personal FinanceExplainer
How a Single Big Stock's Drop Reaches Your Index Fund
In a fund that weights companies by market value, the largest holdings carry the most influence. Nvidia's 4.3 percent decline on Thursday shows how one company's day reaches a 401(k) or an IRA.
- Personal FinanceExplainer
Why an Index Change Can Force Your Funds to Sell
MSCI says it will remove Strategy from its global indexes. Funds that track a benchmark generally follow its changes, and that reaches savers who hold index funds in a 401(k) or an IRA.
- Personal FinanceExplainer
How Tax Brackets Work, Using the IRS's New 2027 Figures
A 22 percent bracket does not mean a 22 percent tax on everything you earn. The IRS's inflation adjustments for tax year 2027 show how the brackets stack, and which household figures moved.
- Personal FinanceAnalysis
A Placeholder Is Not a 2027 Limit
Draft Publication 571 for January 2027 prints the elective-deferral limit as a blank after $24,500. The published 2026 limit, from IR-2025-111, is still $24,500.
- Personal FinanceExplainer
An Account Is a Container
IRA, 401(k), taxable brokerage: the label changes the tax rule. It does not change the risk of what you put inside.
- Personal FinanceExplainer
Rebalancing Is Housekeeping
Putting a mix back to the weights you wrote down is not a market call. It is maintenance.
- Personal FinanceExplainer
A Contribution Limit Is Not a Return
The IRS publishes how much you may put in. It does not publish how much the account will earn.
The IRS Sets the 2026 401(k) Limit at $24,500
Employee deferrals rise by $1,000. The IRA limit moves to $7,500. The ordinary catch-up for workers 50 and older is $8,000.
- Personal FinanceExplainer
Compounding Is Not a Timing Strategy
The arithmetic of reinvested growth does not require a view on next quarter. It does require time.