How we write and check our guides

Rules and figures come from the people who set or measure them: federal agencies such as the IRS, the Social Security Administration, the CDC, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Department of Labor; state insurance regulators and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC); and published research that states its method, such as LIMRA's Insurance Barometer and EBRI's Retirement Confidence Survey.

Each source is linked next to the claim it supports. For a survey, we say who ran it and when. If we cannot find a reliable source for a number, we leave the number out.

Worked examples use illustrative people and are labeled that way. We show every step of the math, so you can redo it with your own numbers. Examples are not projections or promises of any result.

Every article shows when it was published, and an "Updated" date when it has changed since. Tax limits, benefit amounts and new programs change often, so we update an article when a rule it relies on changes, and we say in the article when guidance is still being issued.

Articles explain options and trade-offs; they do not rank products or tell you which policy to buy. When a topic needs advice tailored to you, such as taxes, legal documents or replacing a policy, the article says so.

KAV is not a law firm or a tax adviser. Articles are general education, not individualized financial, tax or legal advice.

You never pay KAV for an article, a needs analysis or a policy review. If you choose to buy a policy through a KAV advisor, the insurance company pays your advisor a commission. You can check any advisor's license with your state insurance department; see our policy review page for the Pennsylvania lookup, and our disclosures for what KAV does and does not do.

If you find a mistake, email contact@kav.solutions with the article and the source you think we got wrong. We check it against the source and fix the article if we were wrong.