IRA BLOG

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst   When a traditional IRA owner wants to convert all or a portion of his account to a Roth IRA, he needs to think long and hard about the transaction. For example, some questions to consider: 1. When will this money be needed?...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst   A big change made by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 was adding a new statute of limitations (SOL) for the IRS to assess penalties for missed required minimum distributions (RMDs) and excess IRA contributions. On its face, it looks like...

Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: When an IRA owner dies after their required beginning date, can an eligible designated beneficiary choose either the life expectancy option or the 10-year payout rule? Answer: If an IRA owner dies on or...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education   It happens. You have made a 2023 contribution to the wrong type of IRA. All is not lost. That contribution can be recharacterized. While recharacterization of Roth IRA conversions was eliminated by the Tax...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst   When presenting a particular section of our training manual, I usually make the joke that, “if we were playing an acronym drinking game, we would all be on our way to a hangover.” The segment is titled: “Missed stretch IRA...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: I inherited an IRA from a younger deceased spouse who wasn’t required to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) until this year. Can I take advantage of the new section 327 rules under SECURE 2.0 since the RMDs haven’t...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst If you were born in 1959, what is the first year that you must start taking required minimum distributions (RMDs)? That would seem like an easy question to answer, but because of a snafu by Congress, it isn’t quite so clear. For many...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education If you take a distribution from your traditional IRA, in most cases you will owe taxes. The government wants to be sure those taxes are paid, so IRA distributions are subject to federal income tax withholding. The...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst QUESTION: I inherited a traditional IRA from my mother in 2024. She passed before her required beginning date (RBD.) I know that I fall under the 10-year rule. The question is, do I need to start required minimum distributions...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Workplace retirement plans – like a 401(k) – can hold different types of dollars. Typically, a 401(k) will have a pre-tax bucket and a Roth bucket. Occasionally, a plan will have a third bucket to hold after-tax (non-Roth) money....

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst If you are making student loan repayments, you should ask your employer if it will match those payments in the company’s retirement plan. The SECURE 2.0 Act allows for matching contributions on “qualified student loan payments” (or...

Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: Can I roll over a Roth 401(k) to an existing Roth IRA or does it need to be in its own separate account? When does the 5-year holding period begin for the Roth 401K rollover? Thank you, Elisabeth Answer: Hi...

Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The new required minimum distribution (RMD) rules recently issued by the IRS include some good news for trusts named as retirement account beneficiaries. A documentation requirement (that tripped up many trustees...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: Under IRS rules, if I am currently receiving required minimum distributions (RMDs) and die today, my non-spouse beneficiary has 10 years to pay out my IRA. If that beneficiary dies five years later (in August 2029), does the...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst In my August 19 Slott Report (“Year of Death RMD – Deadline Extended!”), I wrote about the required beginning date, who takes the year-of-death required minimum distribution (RMD), and the deadline for taking that distribution....

Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst   If you have multiple traditional IRAs and want to do a 60-day rollover (or Roth conversion) in a year when a required minimum distribution (RMD) is due, the IRS has a surprise for you. RMDs from multiple traditional IRAs (and SEP or...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst   QUESTION: I have been getting emails from a few sites pitching their subscriptions. They claim that Roth IRAs will all be taxable in the future. They say there are things you can do to avoid these taxes, but to find out what...

Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education In 2020, the SECURE Act completely changed the game for nonspouse IRA beneficiaries. Now, most are subject to the 10-year payout rule. Recently released final RMD rules keep the controversial proposed rule that...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst When a person reaches the required beginning date (RBD) – generally April 1 of the year after the year the person turns age 73 – required minimum distributions (RMDs) must officially start on traditional IRAs. But what if an IRA...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: Hello, I’m in my sixties, in the golden years for Roth conversions, which I’ve been doing. I’ve had a small Roth IRA account for more than 5 years. Last year I converted $90,000. This year will be about...