No matter your age or your income, financial experts there’s a place in your investment planning for the retirement savings tool known as the Roth IRA. And right now is the ideal time to contribute to one.
Tax considerations are an important factor in long-term investing, whether the goal is preparing for retirement or maximizing a charitable giving legacy. That said, investors also need to be careful not to “let the tax tail wag the investment dog.”
At one time, it was possible to pass down a traditional IRA to an heir without creating added tax complexity. That’s because beneficiaries, by law, could make gradual withdrawals over their lifetime, which not only allowed those accounts to grow but limited the annual income they’d have to report.
A recent report by the Investment Company Institute revealed that U.S. retirement assets climbed to a staggering $40 trillion as of the end of the second quarter. This growth was led by an increase in IRA assets to $14.5 trillion. In addition, a good chunk of the remainder of the $40 trillion is sitting in 401(k) and other company plans, most of which will eventually end up in IRAs.
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.
America’s IRA expert, Ed Slott, shares his thoughts on whether we should continue to contribute to 401(k) plans and IRAs during this entertaining conversation.
Ed also explains his preferred investment vehicle and why, discusses tax risk and offers some year-end strategies for retirement planning.
Parents with leftover money in college funds can now move them to retirement accounts—maybe even their own. But should they?
Let me close with some words from a new book, “The Retirement Savings Time Bomb Ticks Louder,” by Ed Slott, an accountant and retirement consultant. It’s an update of a 2021 book he wrote. Slott gets the fiscal problem. “Congress needs money, they’re going to have to raise the rates, and the last thing you want is to have your money subjected to the uncertainty of what future higher rates can do to your retirement savings,” he writes.
Today we’re joined by Ed Slott, the expert’s expert on retirement planning, to talk about how to make the most of your retirement savings and avoid costly tax surprises. Ed explains why converting to Roth IRAs could be a smart move, the risks of…
Big rollover mistakes are happening more frequently—and not just to individual investors, says tax and IRA expert Ed Slott.
