Most pensions are subject to federal income taxes

Annuitants have to pay income taxes on the annuity payments they receive, unless their annuities are folded into a Roth IRA

In most other cases, annuities grow tax-deferred until annuitants start to receive payments. Those payments are then taxed as regular income. Nonqualified annuities, which are bought with after-tax dollars, have different rules.

State governments have public pensions for their employees

In many US states, these pensions are set aside for teachers, firefighters, and/or other state government workers. However, many of these pensions are currently underfunded. This map provides a visual representation of how strong each US states’ public pensions are.

401(k) plans and pensions differ in who has control over the investments

With pension plans, a company contributes to an investment fund from which it distributes regular payments to a retired worker until their death. A 401(k) gives the worker control over contributions in a tax-advantaged account.

Estate taxes are paid out of the estate, while inheritance taxes are paid by beneficiaries

When a person dies, any estate taxes owed are paid out of their finances before being transferred to their beneficiaries—unlike inheritance taxes that are paid by the beneficiaries themselves. In addition to a federal estate tax, 12 states and the District of Columbia have a state estate tax with varying rates.

When a pension holder dies, payments are sometimes passed on to a relative

Those relatives are often the pension holder’s surviving spouses or dependents. This article offers tips from a financial expert on how to make sure your spouse is taken care of during retirement, including navigating a pension’s ultimate destination.

Pensions often must ‘vest’ for an employee to be eligible for them

This means that often, an employee won’t be eligible to receive a full pension benefit from an employer until they have worked at the job for a certain number of years. Specifically, these vesting schedules determine when one owns their employer’s pension contributions. The number of years varies significantly by employer.

See which age group pays the most in taxes each year

Americans between 45 and 55 pay nearly 30% of all income taxes, bearing the largest share of tax burden in the country. These taxpayers pay an average tax rate of around 17%.

A rising number of Social Security beneficiaries are taxed on their Social Security income

That’s because while Social Security benefits increase with wages and inflation, the income limits for taxing those benefits stay the same and don’t adjust over time.

Mutual funds and taxes

With mutual funds, you can expect a similar tax experience to that of bonds and stocks, although there are a few key differences. Look out for potential taxes on any capital gains or dividend earnings.

Charting where federal revenue comes from

About 50 percent of federal revenue comes from individual income taxes, 7 percent from corporate income taxes, and another 36 percent from payroll taxes that fund social insurance programs. See breakdown in charts here.

Many countries, like Iceland and Norway, offer pensions to elderly citizens

Iceland, Luxembourg, and Norway offer some of the highest annual pension payouts at over 30,000 euros. The below chart shows how European nations stack up in terms of which offer the highest annual pension payouts.

See comparisons of different countries' taxation strategies

Taxes are a major revenue source for most countries, and how each government taxes citizens often reflects the country's economy. Developed countries tax at much higher rates than developing ones, and as a country grows its GDP, it also typically grows the proportional percentage of taxes it gains from its citizens.

Many 'cheap' retirement destinations contain hidden costs

Considering factors outside of housing and state income tax is crucial when thinking of an inexpensive place to retire. High energy bills, grocery tax, and insurance premiums are just a few things to look out for when picking where to live.

Before the 16th Amendment, US tax law required direct taxes to be directly apportioned to a state's population

Due to these requirements, the federal government could not impose many direct taxes. Direct taxes include property and income taxes, whereas indirect taxes include duties and excises.

Before Social Security, elderly Americans relied on family support, limited state pensions, or company-sponsored pensions

Before Social Security benefits were available to American retirees, they had to find other ways to get by. Pensions were only available to roughly 15% of workers, and most elderly Americans went without meaningful economic security.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

Read why some states are considering imposing a flat tax rate that isn't adjusted by income

Wisconsin was the first US state to impose a state income tax, close in time to when the federal income tax went into effect. Many states followed suit, but nine states to this day still don't levy wage-related taxes.

You have to earn under a certain gross amount per year to be eligible for a Roth IRA

A Roth IRA might make the most sense for someone confident that they will have a higher income in retirement than they do now. For 2025, those allowed to contribute to a Roth IRA must have a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of less than $150K.

Run your numbers in this marriage tax calculator

When it comes to federal income taxes, not every couple benefits from getting married. This calculator lets you see how much two specific people might pay if they were to get married based on their individual income levels and more. Specifically, the calculator compares the taxes a married couple would pay if they filed a joint return with what they would pay if they were unmarried and each filed as single.

Capital gains taxes were first levied in the US in 1913

However, up until 1921, they were treated the same as ordinary income. Ever since then, rates have swung up and down.

Public libraries are funded by a mix of local taxes, state grants, and federal programs

Property taxes form the backbone of most library budgets, covering staff and operations. State grants expand access to literacy and technology programs, while federal funding helps libraries in rural and low-income communities.

Learn how tax credits are applied to income taxes

Tax credits are directly subtracted from the amount of money taxpayers owe on their annual income. Unlike tax deductions, credits reduce the owed amount while deductions reduce how much income is taxable. There are different types of tax credits that are either fully or partially paid out.

529 plans can affect college financial aid

Income affects FAFSA financial aid determinations. FAFSA also takes 529 college savings plans into account. The percentage of savings it uses in its calculations depends on who owns the account (parent, student, or someone else). Other schools use a program called CSS to determine financial aid, and those determinations vary.

The average gig worker likely doesn’t have an employer-sponsored retirement plan

But just like full-time 9 to 5 office workers, gig workers can still save for retirement. An article outlines strategies for gig workers seeking to save for retirement, including different ways to think about what the money from each “gig” should go toward.

Explore the PGA Tour's tax filings

The PGA Tour has been a nonprofit since it split from the PGA of America in 1968 and is required by law to publicly file its Form 990. This ProPublica interactive explores the publicly available tax information about the PGA Tour, including reports of first-class flights and notable sources of revenue.

In 1931-32, JP Morgan Jr. paid no income taxes due to his company’s losses

This legally reduced his taxable income under existing laws. Similarly, the Rockefellers leveraged charitable foundations to minimize taxes, allowing them to preserve wealth while directing funds to their preferred causes.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

The rivalry between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson centered on federalism—the question of how much power the federal government should hold relative to the states.

Poison ivy can cause rashes year-round since all parts of the plant contain urushiol, the oil that triggers our allergic response.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

While the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit, their gravity also pulls on the sun, causing it and everything else in the solar system to orbit around a mutual balance point called the barycenter—the true center of the solar system.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'