Laura Saunders, How to Play the Retirement Tax Guessing Game (Wall Street Journal, Sept. 4, 2026)

The great obstacle to effective tax planning for retirement funds is Congress. To make smart moves, savers need to know about future taxes—but this is impossible.

Will lawmakers tackle $40 trillion of debt by raising rates, altering provisions or adding a consumption tax? Maybe, maybe not. 

In addition, savers need to predict their own tax rates on retirement-fund withdrawals. How long will you work, and how much will you save? Will your income in retirement fall or rise? These are also hard questions. 

The upshot is that tax planning for retirement accounts comes down to guesses.

No wonder the last Tax Report hit a nerve with readers. It delved into the problems affluent savers face when their retirement dollars are concentrated in traditional IRA/401(k) accounts. Required withdrawals can shower these savers with unneeded income that raises tax rates, reduces tax breaks and triggers tax increases. 

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