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THE TWO TYPES OF 457(B) PLANS
Some of you are aware that there are two types of section 457(b) retirement plans – governmental plans for state and local municipal workers, and “top hat” plans for highly-paid and managerial employees of tax-exempt...
Read MoreDEATH OF AN IRA BENEFICIARY – BEFORE CLAIMING THE ACCOUNT
When an IRA owner dies, we look to the beneficiary form to determine who should receive the IRA funds. After death, there is a transition process as assets are moved into an inherited IRA for the beneficiary. What if the beneficiary dies
Read More5 WAYS EXCESS IRA CONTRIBUTIONS HAPPEN
You can have too much of a good thing. While it is a good strategy to contribute to an IRA, some contributions are not allowed. When a contribution is not permitted in an IRA, it is an excess contribution and needs to be fixed.
Read MoreFACTS OF THE QUALIFIED HIGHER EDUCATION IRA PENALTY EXCEPTION
Higher education expenses can be steep. Fortunately for those under the age of 59 ½ who need to dip into retirement savings to cover these costs, there is an exception to the 10% early withdrawal penalty. Before tapping your IRA,...
Read MoreVESTING IN COMPANY PLANS AND NEW IRS FORFEITURE RULES
When you leave your job and aren’t fully vested in your company plan account, the plan will forfeit your unvested portion. Recently, the IRS issued new guidance clarifying the forfeiture rules.“Vesting” refers to the...
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SECURE 2.0 ALLOWS RETROACTIVE SOLO 401(K) PLANS WITH ELECTIVE DEFERRALS
The new SECURE 2.0 law fixes a glitch that has made it difficult for new solo 401(k) plans to be opened up retroactively for a prior year. A solo 401(k) plan is a great retirement savings vehicle for self-employed business owners with...
Read MoreHOW THE IRS CONTRIBUTION LIMITS WORK WHEN YOU’RE IN TWO RETIREMENT PLANS
How much can you contribute when you’re in two different retirement plans at the same time or at different times in the same year (e.g., after changing jobs)? The answer is complicated because there’re actually two...
Read MoreNAMING A MINOR AS YOUR IRA BENEFICIARY
If you want to leave your IRA to an adult, you simply name that person on the IRA beneficiary form. Unfortunately, when it comes to minors, it is not that easy. When a minor inherits retirement dollars, the child is not legally able to...
Read More5 THINGS TO KNOW WHEN MAKING A 2022 ROTH IRA CONTRIBUTION
Tax season is upon us. This is the time when you might be thinking about contributing to a retirement account. You may be interested in the Roth IRA, which offers the promise of tax-free withdrawals in retirement if you follow the...
Read MoreQualified Charitable Distributions - IRS Requirements
Qualified Charitable Distributions are great options for making charitable gifts, if you are over age 70 1/2 when donating, complete the transaction as a direct transfer from an IRA, report the amount correctly on your tax return and...
Read MoreIRA TRANSACTIONS THAT CAN BE MISSED
Not every IRA transaction is easily identifiable. Some require a little legwork to reveal or report what occurred. Some transactions are not even labeled on official IRS tax forms and can go undetected. Here are three items that...
Read MoreHow we keep up with the latest retirement and estate planning strategies and tax law changes
Ever wonder how your Financial Planner keeps up with the latest retirement account planning strategies, estate planning techniques and tax law? I wonder about that too. As a member Members of Ed Slott’s Elite IRA Advisor...
Read MoreA CLEAR EXPLANATION OF THE RBD
SECURE Act regulations shoved the required beginning date (RBD) to the front of the stage. No longer can the RBD hide from the bright lights. What was once somewhat of a minor date in people’s lives has blossomed into an...
Read MoreTHE CLOCK IS TICKING ON 2022 CONVERSIONS
Fall is in full swing now with football, foliage, and pumpkin spice everything. The holiday season is just around the corner. Before we know it, the year 2022 will come to an end. If you are considering converting an IRA to a Roth IRA...
Read More3 IRA RULES TO KNOW BEFORE YOU WALK DOWN THE AISLE
According to many recent surveys, the fall months of September and October are overtaking June as the most popular time of year to tie the knot. If your wedding is approaching in the next few months, the last thing you may be thinking...
Read MoreIRS PROVIDES SOME RELIEF FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE IAN
If you are a victim of Hurricane Ian, you may be eligible for some relief when it comes to your retirement accounts. The IRS has postponed certain tax deadlines for individuals affected by Hurricane Ian until February 15, 2023. Some of...
Read MoreQCDS AND THE ABSOLUTE NECESSITY FOR A CWA
Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) are a common transaction these days, but all guidelines must be followed to ensure the QCD is valid. Recent court cases have exposed the absolute necessity to adhere to the rules…or the...
Read MoreHOW ARE ROTH 401(K) DISTRIBUTIONS TAXED?
More and more 401(k) plans now offer Roth contributions. At the same time, Americans are changing jobs and receiving 401(k) distributions in record numbers. So, it’s a good time to review the tax rules that apply to Roth 401(k)...
Read MoreOCTOBER 17 IS THE DEADLINE TO CORRECT 2021 EXCESS IRA CONTRIBUTIONS WITHOUT PENALTY
Maybe you made a Roth IRA contribution for 2021, but your income was too high. Maybe you made a traditional IRA contribution without having any earned income. These are both examples of excess IRA contributions. The bad news is that...
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THE LIMITS OF ERISA SPOUSAL PROTECTION
A recent federal court case from West Virginia illustrates that the spouse of a 401(k) participant usually has no right to prevent the plan from paying the participant a lump sum distribution.In Gifford v. Burton, a Mr. Gifford...
Read MoreYOUR AGE AND YOUR ROTH IRA CONVERSION
Questions on how age affects the decision to convert to a Roth IRA are common. What age is too old to convert? There is no easy answer to this question because there is no magic age when conversion makes the most sense or no longer...
Read MoreCONDUIT IRA – IS IT REALLY NECESSARY?
Conduit IRAs, sometimes called “rollover IRAs,” typically contained only money rolled over from a company plan - and subsequent earnings on those dollars. But a 2001 tax law (Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation...
Read More4 QCD RULES THAT MAY SURPRISE YOU
A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) is a way for you to move funds out of your IRA to a qualifying charity income-tax free. If you are thinking this might be a good strategy for you, here are 4 QCD rules that may surprise you.1...
Read MoreREPAYING A CRD
Back in 2020 when COVID first became our new reality, Congress enacted the CARES Act. The CARES Act allowed qualified individuals who were affected by COVID to take penalty-free distributions from their retirement accounts of up to...
Read MoreSIDESTEPPING THE NEW IRS PRIVATE LETTER RULING FEES
Like most everything else these days, the price for receiving an IRS private letter ruling (PLR) has recently gone up.A person will request a PLR to receive the IRS’s blessing that a specific tax transaction won’t violate...
Read MoreDIRECT TRANSFERS, DIRECT ROLLOVERS, AND 60-DAY ROLLOVERS
When moving retirement money from IRA to IRA, or from a workplace retirement plan like a 401(k) to an IRA, there are essentially three methods to relocate those dollars. Two of them are similar, and the third opens all kinds of...
Read MoreWhen a "Reverse Rollover" Makes Sense
Usually, rollovers involving 401(k) accounts and IRAs involve moving dollars from a plan to an IRA. But sometimes it makes sense to instead do a “reverse rollover” – from an IRA to a 401(k).
Read MoreToo Old to Convert? Think Again
TOO OLD TO CONVERT? THINK AGAINYou may have heard how converting to a Roth IRA is a great move for younger people. This is no surprise. A younger person who converts has two big factors working in her favor. She may pay taxes on a...
Read MoreSenate Committees Take Up Retirement Savings Proposals
Proposals to boost IRA and workplace plan savings are advancing, but they are not law yet. Several actions must occur before the proposals become law. On March 29, the House passed the “Securing a Strong Retirement Act of...
Read More5 TAKEAWAYS FROM THE NEW SECURE ACT REGULATIONS
The SECURE Act was signed into law in late December of 2019. This new law upended the rules for retirement accounts. On Feb 23, the IRS released new proposed regulations that incorporate all the changes brought about by the SECURE Act.
Read MoreLAST-MINUTE IRA TAX DEADLINES & RULES
The deadline for filing your 2021 tax return is this Monday, April 18. As we close in on the last few days to complete our returns, there is still sand in the hourglass to complete certain IRA transactions.
Read MoreNOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE YOUR 2021 IRA CONTRIBUTION
NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE YOUR 2021 IRA CONTRIBUTION Thursday, March 24th 2022 By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport It may be hard to believe it but the countdown to the 2021...
Read MoreSECURE ACT REGS BRING NEW ROTH IRA ADVANTAGE
An inherited Roth IRA offers complete flexibility within the 10-year period and completely avoids the complicated RMD rules. And, best of all, the Roth IRA can grow tax-free for ten years before any distributions are required.
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Consumer Confidence at the Pump
The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report was recently released and confirmed what economists anticipated: consumer inflation has risen 7.9% over the past year, the largest spike since 1982— none of which is a surprise for...
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