IRA BLOG

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Tax season is in full swing. That means that the 2022 tax-filing deadline is not far away. Are you considering making a 2022 IRA contribution? Time is quickly running out. Here...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Question: My daughter had two employers during 2022. The first employer offered a matching 401(k) plan in which she enrolled. The second employer (her current employer) offers...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Spring break. Warm breezes and ocean waves and fancy cocktails are top of mind. The aroma of coconut suntan lotion entwined with barbecue smoke floats on salty air. And when morning light...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport We continue to get questions about the ability of employees to withdraw from 401(k) plans while still working. The tax code includes certain restrictions on these in-service withdrawals. Plans must...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Question: Hi, I’m looking forward to the July workshop in Boston but hoping you can help with this question now. What happens if an account holder who is over age 59 ½ does a...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Tax season is in full swing. That means that the 2022 tax-filing deadline is not far away. Are you considering making a 2022 IRA contribution? Time is quickly running out. Here...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport People on TikTok create investment advice videos? And I’m supposed to trust whatever this talking head is telling me? No chance. Of course, the person on TikTok could hold a number of higher...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Question: Hello, I have an inherited IRA which falls under the 10-year rule. I understand that the IRS has tried to clear up the 10-year RMD (required minimum distribution) confusion but I am still...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Considering that it made 92 new IRA and retirement plan changes and is 357 pages long, it’s not surprising that the new SECURE 2.0 law has several unintended drafting errors and lots of unresolved...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport 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...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Question: Can an Education Savings Account (ESA) be rolled into a Roth IRA under the recently enacted SECURE 2.0? 529 plans clearly can - beginning in 2024 - but I have found no reference to...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Last week the Ed Slott team hosted another highly successful and sold-out 2-day advisor training program at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Over 250 financial professionals from across the...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport 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...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Question: I am interested in your interpretation of the RMD (required minimum distribution) rules using the following facts: Original IRA owner’s DOB is 1/21/29 Original IRA...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport SECURE 2.0 is a mammoth piece of legislation that contains over 90 provisions that affect retirement accounts. While many of these provisions are not game changers, they still...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport By now, most are aware the SECURE Act created a new class of beneficiaries called “eligible designated beneficiaries” (EDBs). This group includes surviving spouses, minor children of the...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Question: Hi, Thank you for all the helpful insight on retirement. I wish I heard about your website earlier. I turned 72 last year and followed your advice on QCDs (qualified charitable...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport 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...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport 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...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport QUESTION: I just inherited my spouse’s inherited IRA (he got it from his father). He (my husband) was already taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) based on his own single life...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport When IRA or retirement plan assets are withdrawn prior to age 59 ½, an early distribution penalty of 10% applies - in addition to any taxes owed on the distribution. However, there are...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Up to now, employer contributions to 401(k) (and other plans) had to be made to pre-tax accounts. One of the SECURE 2.0 changes already in effect allows employer contributions to be made to Roth...

Question: If I did a Roth conversion in 2022, do I have to wait 5 years before I can touch the amount $16,500 (the amount I converted) penalty free? The Roth has been open since 2003 and I'm over 59 ½. Answer: The five-year rules for Roth IRA distributions can be very...

By Sarah Brenner, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport The SECURE Act changed the game for inherited IRAs. For most beneficiaries, the stretch IRA is gone and has been replaced by the 10-year payout rule. However, the SECURE Act carved out some rules...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport A ton of questions on this topic have come across our desks, and we have seen swirling, hypnotizing spirals in the eyes of many an advisor. I can only imagine what the general public is...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Question: If a person turned 72 in 2022, and died before starting her traditional IRA RMDs (required minimum distributions), must her three children take an RMD (based on their ages) in 2022 and for...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport The SECURE 2.0 Act, enacted into law on December 29, 2022, makes over 90 changes to the IRA and employer plan tax rules. If that isn’t enough, many of these provisions aren’t immediately effective and...

By Sarah Brenner, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport SECURE 2.0 is now the law of the land and one thing is very clear. Roth-O-Mania is here! In their quest for more revenue, Congress has created more options to save with Roth accounts. These...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Question: Hello Ed, I have a question concerning Secure 2.0 pertaining to transferring “leftover” 529 plan account balances into a Roth IRA, beginning 2024. If I have no income in 2024, can I...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport If a person has a Traditional IRA and is of the age when lifetime required minimum distributions (RMDs) apply, then that person must withdraw a portion of that account annually. The amount to...