How to Deal With a Big Tax Bill

How to Deal With a Big Tax Bill

Don’t panic — but do pay the tax tab Bills are a fact of life, though some require more urgent attention than others. Ignore your brother-in-law because you still owe him $50 from last year’s poker game, and you’ll get the cold shoulder. Ignore your debt to Uncle Sam,...

Weekly Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary – 4/19/2024 -Darren Leavitt, CFA Financial markets took another step back last week as investors grappled with increased tensions in the Middle East and the recognition that interest rates are likely going to be higher for longer. Iran...
7 Ways Retirement Will Be Different in 2024

7 Ways Retirement Will Be Different in 2024

How changes in Social Security, Medicare, taxes and more will affect your finances For most people, retirement finance is a delicate balance between income that’s likely less than what you made while working and expenses that may be lower in some areas (no more...

TWO RMD STRATEGIES TO AVOID IRMAA

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport You have carefully saved for retirement and now you have accumulated a substantial amount of funds in your IRA.  At some point the funds that you have been putting away for years...

Weekly Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary – 4/12/2024 -Darren Leavitt, CFA Financial markets pulled back for the second consecutive week as investors continued to recalibrate monetary policy expectations and assess the most recent conditions in geopolitics. A...

THE WISE SHOPPER – ROTH CONVERSIONS

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   Imagine walking through a grocery store, intent on purchasing a specific item. As you turn down an aisle, little colorful tags proclaiming “Special Deal” and “Buy 1, Get 1” protrude from each...

JUST A FEW DAYS LEFT TO FIX 2023 EXCESS 401(K) DEFERRALS

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport If you exceeded the 2023 limit for 401(k) deferrals, time is of the essence to correct the error. If you don’t act quickly, the tax consequences can be serious. The maximum amount of pre-tax and Roth...

Weekly Market Commentary

-Darren Leavitt, CFA Wall Street took a step back in the first week of the second quarter as robust economic data induced a recalibration of rate cut expectations. The recalibration was further influenced by Minneapolis Fed Governor Neel Kashkari’s suggestion...

THE 10-YEAR RULE AND INHERITED IRAS: TODAY’S SLOTT REPORT MAILBAG

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: I have a general question regarding the 10-year time frame for emptying an inherited IRA. Your guidance says that the deadline is the END of the tenth year following death....
10 Things Boomers Should Consider Selling in Retirement

10 Things Boomers Should Consider Selling in Retirement

Retirement is not just about what you should buy or invest in — it’s equally about decluttering and letting go of assets that may no longer serve a purpose or even cost you money. For baby boomers, the following are items worth considering selling in retirement to...

4 WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR RMD TAX BITE

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Markets continue to climb. That is good news for your retirement account. However, there is a downside. When you contribute to a traditional IRA or a pre-tax 401(k), you make a deal...

10 POINTS: FIXING EXCESS IRA CONTRIBUTIONS

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport ‘Tis the season for identifying and correcting excess IRA contributions. It seems as if every other recent inquiry is about this subject. To keep readers on the straight and narrow, here are ten...

Weekly Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary – 3/28/2024 -Darren Leavitt, CFA The S&P 500 hit another all-time high this week as investors appeared to rebalance positions into quarter end.  The week started with some weakness on the announcement that the EU was investigating...

RMD RULES FOR IRA BENEFICIARIES: TODAY’S SLOTT REPORT MAILBAG

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: Hi, My last remaining parent, my mother, passed away in May 2017, and my younger brother and I inherited her IRA (equally split into inherited IRA accounts). We were of the understanding we could...
6 Reasons Annuities Should Be Part of Your Retirement Plan in 2024

6 Reasons Annuities Should Be Part of Your Retirement Plan in 2024

When setting up your financial retirement plan, you’ll likely consider various options for how you plan on covering the bills in your golden years. With soaring inflation and aggressive rate hikes from the Fed, annuities have become more popular recently, as those...

ARE 529-TO-ROTH IRA ROLLOVERS SUBJECT TO STATE TAX?

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Previous Slott Report articles have covered the new SECURE 2.0 provision allowing 529 funds to be rolled over to Roth IRAs. We’ve reported that there are several unanswered questions concerning this new...

TWO CAUTIONS WHEN DOING A BACKDOOR ROTH CONVERSION

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport You might be thinking about contributing to a Roth IRA. One big hurdle to making these contributions is the fact that there are income limits that make high income individuals...