By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst The 72(t) rules (”series of substantially equal periodic payments”) allow a person to tap retirement dollars before 59½ without a 10% early distribution penalty. However, to gain this early access, you must commit to a plan of...
By Sarah Brenner Director of Retirement Education Question: Ed, My mother passed away in May 2019, and I inherited her IRA. She had not completed her RMD for 2019, so I did that. In 2020, I began my RMDs based on the Single Life Table for Inherited IRAs. Since I...
By Sarah Brenner Director of Retirement Education If you inherit an IRA, especially if it is a larger one, you may be afraid of being stuck with the five-year distribution rule. If this rule applies, your IRA must be entirely emptied in five years, which can be a...
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Those of you who participate in 401(k) plans or certain 403(b) plans should see something new on your next quarterly statement for the period ending June 30, 2022. For the first time, the statements must include illustrations of the...
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: Good Day, I have a client (age 65) who inherited a traditional IRA from her mother in 2020. I know that she must empty the account by 12/31/30. She is not an eligible designated beneficiary (EDB). I’m trying to calculate the...
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst SCENARIO: John owns multiple Roth IRAs. He believes it is necessary to maintain all these accounts to keep things properly organized and to track his 5-year conversion clocks. He has contributed to Roth IRA #1 for over a decade. He...
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education You can have too much of a good thing. While saving for retirement with an IRA is a good strategy, there are limits. When a contribution is not permitted in an IRA, it is an excess contribution and needs to be...
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: As we did 2 years ago, will we be able to skip taking a 2022 required minimum distribution (RMD) without penalties? Answer: Sorry, but RMDs are in full effect for 2022. The CARES Act waived RMDs in 2020, but that was a...
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst 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). Let’s get some bad news out of the way:...
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: I am 79 and make SEP-IRA withdrawals annually as required. I also have several regular (non-IRA) accounts. One fund I own throws off tremendous taxable capital gains every year. Is there any way I can...
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Why is it so important to know how the once-per-year rollover rule works? Well, that is because trouble with the once-per year rule is the kind of trouble no one wants! An IRA owner who violates this rule is...
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: Hi, I am age 50 and am targeting retirement at age 55. My current employer is selling the division I work for, and I see the potential that I could be laid off at, say, 52. If this were to happen, could I join a new employer...
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Employees leaving their jobs are often surprised to discover they aren’t entitled to the full balance of their company plan account. The reason is that some plans impose a vesting rule on certain types of contributions. What do the...
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Last week in Kansas City, the Ed Slott team hosted our first in-person training program for members of our Elite Advisor Group since late 2019. While we managed to stay in contact with everyone via virtual meetings for the last two...
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: I have a 401(k) that I’d like to use a portion for a QCD. I understand that QCD’s have to be from an IRA. Can I move a portion to an IRA for the QCD? How will this affect my RMD from my 401(k)? Federal tax...
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The real estate market is red hot right now. This can be especially challenging for first time home buyers. IRA savings are intended to be used for your retirement. However, if you are like many others, your IRA...
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Just when we thought we understood the new IRS regulations on required minimum distributions (RMDs), here comes more uncertainty. As we have reported, the IRS threw everyone a curveball with its interpretation of the 10-year payout rule...
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: I am 75 years old and contributing to my company’s 401(K) plan. I have not taken an RMD from my 401(K) utilizing the “still-working exception.” I just retired on April 30, 2022. My question is: Do I have...
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) continue to gain popularity, and with that popularity comes more questions. Here are a dozen QCD facts that will keep you on the straight-and-narrow with your QCD transactions: 1. QCDs are...
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Recently, Fidelity investments made headlines by announcing that it would allow retirement savers to put Bitcoin in their 401(k)s. Cryptocurrency has been all over the news, and you may be wondering if it would be...
