Most people know about the standard 401(k) catch-up contribution after age 50. Fewer people know that SECURE 2.0 created a higher "super catch-up" limit exclusively for ages 60, 61, 62, and 63 — and that it drops back down at 64. This explains what the super catch-up actually allows, what it means in real dollar terms over a four-year window, whether your plan has adopted it, and how to use this last pre-retirement sprint to close the gap before you stop contributing entirely.

When a $15,000 emergency hits and your 401(k) looks like the only option, the difference between taking a loan and taking an early withdrawal is the difference between a $0 tax bill and a $4,800 check written to the IRS on the spot — before you lose the future compound growth on that money. This breakdown runs the real math on both options, explains the hidden risk with 401(k) loans that most articles skip, covers the new SECURE 2.0 emergency withdrawal exception, and lays out what to try before touching your retirement account at all.

The step-up in basis rule is one of the most valuable tax provisions most Americans have never heard of. When you inherit stocks, mutual funds, or a taxable brokerage account, the IRS automatically resets your cost basis to the fair market value on the date of death — wiping out all the capital gains that accumulated during the original owner’s lifetime. On $125,000 in inherited stock with an $81,000 embedded gain, that’s $12,000–$16,000 in federal taxes that simply disappear. Here’s the real dollar math, what qualifies and what doesn’t, and how to use this rule in your own estate planning.

A self-employed person with $80,000 in net income can contribute roughly $38,000 to a Solo 401k but only about $16,000 to a SEP-IRA — on the same income. Most people pick the SEP because it’s simpler without realizing they’re leaving more than $20,000 in annual tax-deferred contribution room on the table. Here’s the complete comparison: contribution limits at different income levels, the Roth advantage the SEP-IRA doesn’t have, the backdoor Roth complication that makes the SEP a trap for some investors, and a clear decision framework for choosing the right account.

The debate between dividend investing and total return is one of the most emotionally charged in retirement planning — and it has a real answer. Total return wins on the math. Dividends win on the psychology. Here’s what actually matters for a 62-year-old deciding how to structure their portfolio, including the sector concentration trap most dividend investors walk into, the tax math during the pre-Social Security window, and the cash buffer strategy that solves the behavioral problem better than any yield-chasing approach.