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The math behind a retirement plan, in plain English. Every article names its sources and links to a calculator you can try it in.

• Catch-up contributions after 50, including ages 60 to 63

  How much extra you can put into a 401(k), IRA or HSA from age 50, the bigger catch-up at 60 to 63, and the new rule that sends high earners' catch-ups to Roth.

  Craig Klinker · October 25, 2026

• How to tell if you're on track for retirement

  A retirement plan is a path, not a number at 65. How to compare where you are with where your plan expected you to be, and what the gap means.

  Craig Klinker · October 25, 2026

• Monte Carlo retirement simulations in plain English

  What a Monte Carlo simulation does with your retirement plan, how to read a success rate and a fan chart, why 100% isn't the goal, and what the model leaves out.

  Craig Klinker · October 25, 2026

• RMDs explained: ages, the table and the penalty

  When required minimum distributions start for your birth year, how the IRS table turns a balance into an RMD, the deadlines, and the penalty for missing one.

  Craig Klinker · October 25, 2026

• The 4% rule: what it is, where it breaks, what to use instead

  Where the 4% rule came from, what the original research assumed, the cases it doesn't cover, and how to test a withdrawal rate against your own plan.

  Craig Klinker · October 25, 2026

• When to claim Social Security: the break-even math

  How claiming at 62, at full retirement age or at 70 changes your monthly benefit, the break-even ages that follow, and what that math leaves out.

  Craig Klinker · October 25, 2026