Personal Finance Advice and Commentary

Some tax and other legal changes have encouraged corporations to look for ways to unload their liability for pensions onto an insurance company.

Retirement planning isn’t easy. Don’t assume. Assuming without doing the math is a big mistake.

Here are some retirement assumptions that may be true but are just as likely — based on your numbers — to be wrong.

A Roth IRA or 401(k) will save you money in the end. Before you switch or convert your current account, do the math. For young people with their highest-earning years ahead of them, choosing a Roth individual retirement account, or IRA, will almost certainly pay off. But if you are currently in your highest-earning years, skipping the tax break now is likely to turn out to be a costly mistake. Get your accountant to make some projections before you make up your mind.