by Kenny | Dec 7, 2023
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport QUESTION: My brother passed away in May 2023. He had a small IRA with no beneficiary. He was 73 at the time of his death. His estate is to be divided equally among his eight brothers and sisters,...
by Kenny | Dec 6, 2023
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport SIMPLE IRA plans are a popular retirement savings option for small businesses. The plans are available for companies with 100 or fewer employees who received at least $5,000 in pay from the company in the...
by Kenny | Dec 4, 2023
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport It is December. The halls are decked, and Starbucks holiday cups are everywhere. The end of the year is not far away. That means the deadline is near for taking a required minimum...
by Kenny | Nov 29, 2023
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport If the Grinch and Bad Santa both passed their FINRA Series 7 exam and decided to open an investment advisory firm, I’m pretty sure they would combine forces to intentionally deliver some of the WORST...
by Kenny | Nov 27, 2023
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport A few weeks ago, many of us were required to turn back our clocks one hour and say goodbye to daylight savings time. And with that change came the usual reminder to change the batteries in our smoke...
by Kenny | Nov 22, 2023
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Thanksgiving is almost here! This is a time for us to gather together and express our gratitude for all the good things in our lives. When it comes to our retirement accounts, we...
by Kenny | Nov 21, 2023
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Year-end to-do lists are commonplace. The problem is, they always seem to get published in mid-to-late December. I can almost hear the collective “thanks for nothing” comment from readers as the...
by Kenny | Nov 15, 2023
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Remember coronavirus-related distributions, or “CRDs”? Passed as part of the CARES Act in March 2020, CRDs were special distributions designed to help people who contracted COVID or had financial hardship...
by Kenny | Nov 13, 2023
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport You may have noticed grocery stores stocking up for Thanksgiving, and festive lights and displays going up everywhere. Yes, it is the holiday season, but it is also the season to...
by Kenny | Nov 9, 2023
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: In 2020 and 2021, when I was over 65 years old, I converted some of my IRA into a Roth IRA. Does the five-year rule still apply to me, or can I now draw out all of the...
by Kenny | Nov 8, 2023
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport An advisor called and said his 75-year-old client had just passed away. He had questions about the payout rules applicable to the three IRAs the client left behind: a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA, and...
by Kenny | Nov 6, 2023
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Of the 92 provisions in the SECURE 2.0 legislation, signed into law last December, by far the most challenging is section 327. Section 327 changes the distribution rules for spouse beneficiaries of...
by Kenny | Nov 2, 2023
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: Dear Mr. Slott, I made $40,000 additional non-deductible (after taxes) contributions to my IRA many years ago. I have filed IRS Form 8606 every year informing the IRS of the contributions....
by Kenny | Nov 1, 2023
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport The IRS has released cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for 2024. Many IRA limits will increase next year. Higher IRA Contributions The limit on annual contributions to an IRA...
by Kenny | Oct 30, 2023
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Within the 400-page Ed Slott advisor training manual, we include a basic chart that outlines the Roth IRA distribution ordering rules and the availability of those specific dollars. When presenting...
by Kenny | Oct 23, 2023
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport The once-per-year IRA rollover rule sounds pretty easy to understand. You may only do one IRA-to-IRA (or Roth IRA-to-Roth IRA rollover) per year (365 days). However, this rule is...
by Kenny | Oct 19, 2023
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: I earn too much money and can’t do a Roth IRA. I have heard about the back-door Roth IRA strategy for those who earn more than the allowable contribution for the Roth IRA...
by Kenny | Oct 18, 2023
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport An estate can become the beneficiary of a person’s IRA in a couple of ways. First, the estate could be named outright as the beneficiary on the beneficiary form. This is not recommended. Why? One...
by Kenny | Oct 16, 2023
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport The Investment Company Institute (ICI) is an association representing mutual fund companies and similar investment companies. Each year, ICI conducts a survey of the prevalence of IRAs in American...
by Kenny | Oct 12, 2023
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: I have a client who just retired at age 80. He has $800,000 in his 401(k) plan which is being rolled over to an IRA. Does he have to take an RMD this year based on the...