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Today is the last day of 2014 already. That means we’re just hours away from New Year’s Eve parties, talk of resolutions we’re not really going to keep, and perhaps, a bit of the old bubbly. And of course, no New Year’s celebration is complete without a final countdown. So with that in mind, the final 2014 Slott Report article counts down, 10 to 1, to the new year IRA-style.

The major Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) announcement pushed off last week's Slott Report Mailbag until this week, and it couldn't come at a better time. With 2014 hanging on by its coattails, year-end retirement planning is nearing its conclusion. In crunch time, advisors and consumers are asking specific questions about taking required minimum distributions (RMDs). It's only fitting that we received two questions on the topic this week.

Congress has passed the “extenders bill” for 2014 (the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014). President Barack Obama will sign the bill into law shortly. This bill revived qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) for 2014 only. The clock is ticking, so find out that this means for QCDs in 2014.

Jeffrey Levine outlines 5 key retirement planning tips to consider before 2014 turns into 2015. This IRAtv message is the perfect retirement planning send-off to a New Year with planning points to follow now.

As we approach the end of 2014, we have been telling you about all of the things that you need to do with your retirement accounts before year-end. As if you weren’t busy enough at this time of the year, there are many things that must be done by December 31, 2014 to avoid problems and potential IRS penalties. Setting up a SEP IRA is not one of them.

What happens if your IRA holds an illiquid asset and you are over age 70 ½? Can you skip the required minimum distribution (RMD)? The answer to that question is, no, you cannot skip the RMD. It is called a required distribution because the distribution is required. Here are three options for satisfying the RMD from the IRA with the illiquid asset.

This week's Slott Report Mailbag looks at the Roth IRA 5-year rules and how they apply to an investor who wants to start taking distributions from his Roth IRA. Also, it's year-end, so we look at a popular question involving the process of determining if you have a required minimum distribution (RMD), and if so, how much.

Have you taken your required distribution this year? Make sure you avoid the 50%, yes 50%(!), RMD penalty by asking yourself these 10 questions before year-end.

Many of you have asked us if Congress will reinstate Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) for 2014. As of today they have not yet been reinstated for 2014, but that doesn’t mean Congress has forgotten about them. Here’s the latest on what’s happening.

A taxpayer simply wanted sound financial advice. Instead she received compounding errors, headaches and a trip to IRS. In this month's Ruling to Remember, we examine advisor and custodian errors that lead to an IRS Private Letter Ruling on an IRA to SIMPLE IRA rollover.