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• Anyone who's bought groceries, filled their gas tank or paid insurance premiums recently would probably be surprised to learn that, according to Department of Labor's Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U), the rate of inflation is relatively flat - only 1.2 percent from September 2012 to September 2013.
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• That's bad news for people who were hoping to boost their contributions to an IRA, 401(k) plan or other tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts, since the IRS uses the CPI-U's September year-over-year performance to determine whether or not to make cost-of-living adjustments to many of the retirement contributions you and your employer can make in the following year.
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• Here are highlights of what will and won't change in 2014:
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• Defined contribution plans. The maximum allowable annual contribution you can make to a workplace 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) or federal Thrift Savings plan remains unchanged at $17,500. Keep in mind these additional factors:
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• People over 50 can also make an additional $5,500 in catch-up contributions (unchanged from 2013).
• The annual limit for combined employee and employer contributions increased by $1,000 to $52,000.
• Because your plan may limit the percentage of pay you can contribute, your maximum contribution may actually be less. (For example, if the maximum contribution is 10 percent of pay and you earn $60,000, you could only contribute $6,000.)
• Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). The maximum annual contribution to IRAs remains the same at $5,500 (plus an additional $1,000 if 50 or older - also un

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