US: health-plan costs, mortgages, 401(k)s and IRAs

Nina’s US household example begins with three forms on the table: a health-plan summary, a mortgage Loan Estimate and a workplace retirement statement. They all contain percentages. Unfortunately, the percentages do not describe the same thing. One shares a bill, one prices borrowing, and one determines how much salary goes into a retirement account.

This guide explains the distinctions using federal information and fictional examples. State insurance rules, employer plan documents, local property costs and individual tax circumstances still matter. The retirement contribution figures are for calendar year 2026; they are not a forecast of next year’s limits.

The premium is only one part of health-plan cost

A deductible, copayment and coinsurance can each affect what you owe for covered services. Provider networks, covered medicines and authorisation requirements can matter as much as the headline deductible. Compare the plan’s Summary of Benefits and Coverage alongside the actual network and drug information, using the same household and coverage period.

The HealthCare.gov out-of-pocket-limit explanation says the limit does not include premiums, non-covered services, out-of-network care or amounts above allowed charges. The deductible generally contributes toward the relevant in-network maximum for covered benefits; it is not an additional amount to automatically add on top of that maximum. Check the plan’s individual and family structure.

Suppose fictional Plan A has a household-paid premium of $300 a month and a $5,000 relevant out-of-pocket maximum. For covered in-network care subject to that limit, annual premiums plus the maximum would be $8,600. Plan B costs $200 a month with a $7,000 maximum, giving $9,400 on the same basis. These are deliberately simplified illustrations, not real plans or universal caps on all healthcare spending.

B saves $1,200 in premiums in a year without other costs, but the covered-care high-spending scenario is $800 higher. A particular medicine being excluded, or a necessary clinician being out of network, could matter more than either comparison. The right next step is to model the care you plausibly use and identify what the maximum does not protect.

Use the Loan Estimate to compare the same transaction

A mortgage’s principal-and-interest payment is not necessarily the total monthly housing payment. Taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance can be additional, and association fees or maintenance may sit outside the lender’s displayed total. Cash to close is another separate number: being able to make the monthly instalment does not establish that you can fund completion.

The CFPB’s Loan Estimate comparison guide explains how to inspect loan costs, cash to close and the five-year comparison. Compare the same loan type, term and rate-lock assumptions. An adjustable-rate example does not predict how its reference rate will move.

Ask whether an apparently attractive rate requires discount points or another upfront cost. Then calculate how long you expect to keep the loan and what balance remains at that date. Dividing extra upfront cost by monthly payment savings can be a rough first screen, but it can miss differences in principal repayment and the timing of cash flows. The fuller comparison should include both interest and fees over the chosen period.

When a loan proceeds toward closing, compare the final documents with the most recent estimate rather than treating the earlier quote as permanent. The CFPB Closing Disclosure explainer identifies the main payment, cost and cash-to-close checks. Ask for an explanation of a difference while there is still time to understand it.

A 401(k) and an IRA have separate rules

For 2026, the IRS states a standard employee contribution limit of $24,500 for 401(k) plans and a general IRA contribution limit of $7,500. Traditional and Roth IRA contributions share the IRA limit; having several IRA accounts does not multiply it. Employer-plan rules, compensation and tax conditions must also be satisfied. See the IRS announcement of 2026 retirement limits and its IRA contribution guidance.

The IRS announcement gives an $8,000 general age-50-plus catch-up for most relevant workplace plans and a higher $11,250 catch-up for qualifying participants aged 60–63, replacing rather than stacking on top of the standard catch-up. The IRA age-50-plus catch-up is $1,100. Other conditions, including the tax treatment of certain catch-up contributions, require checking with the plan. Nina is 49 in the established cast, so her example does not assume age-based catch-up eligibility.

Eligibility to contribute is different from eligibility to deduct a traditional IRA contribution. Workplace-plan coverage, income and filing status can affect the deduction. Direct Roth IRA contributions also have income restrictions. A table headed “IRA limit” does not answer all those questions, and an account provider accepting a payment does not establish its tax treatment.

Understand the match before choosing a contribution

Imagine an employer promises a match equal to 50% of employee contributions on the first 6% of eligible pay. On a hypothetical $60,000 salary, an employee contributing 6% puts in $3,600, while the stated match would be $1,800 before considering the plan’s detailed conditions. It is not a 50% contribution on all salary and not a guarantee about investment performance.

Check what counts as eligible pay, whether matching is calculated each pay period, whether the plan has a year-end adjustment, and when employer contributions become vested. These are questions for the actual plan documents. Contributing heavily early in a year can have a different matching result from spreading payments if the plan’s terms do not reconcile it later.

Keep retirement saving and emergency cash distinct

A retirement account can hold investments with very different risks and charges. The account label does not make the investment diversified, low-cost or guaranteed. Compare the fund or investment inside the account, any administration fees and the restrictions on accessing the money. A projected balance should be presented as a scenario, not an amount the household can rely on receiving.

Coordinate those contributions with the health-plan exposure and any home purchase. A household can have a strong retirement balance and still struggle to fund a deductible or closing costs without disruptive withdrawals. Conversely, keeping every long-term dollar in cash creates a different set of tradeoffs. Time horizon and flexibility should be explicit before the product choice.

Nina’s practical next step is to build one annual cash-flow view using the employee-paid premium, a realistic care scenario, the total housing budget and proposed retirement contributions. She can then ask precise questions about missing coverage, matching conditions or closing cash. The documents supply the rules; the household’s priorities determine how they fit together.