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This week's Slott Report Mailbag discusses IRA basis and the ever-popular question about Roth IRA and IRA distributions' tax status. As always, we stress the importance of working with a competent, educated financial advisor to keep your retirement nest egg safe and secure. Click to read this week's Q&A with our IRA Technical Expert.

In response to my post last week on the IRS announcement of final regulations for Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contracts (QLACs), a number of Slott Report readers inquired about their availability. Here’s what some of them had to say...

You want to make a contribution to a Roth IRA for 2014. As long as you’re working and have compensation (earned income) you can potentially make a Roth IRA contribution of up to $5,500 if you’re under age 50 or $6,500 if you’re age 50 or older this year.

Yesterday, July 1, 2014, the IRS released the Final Regulations for "qualifying longevity annuity contracts" (QLACs). Thanks to these regulations, you will now be able to purchase certain annuity contracts that can be excluded from the fair market value you use to calculate your required minimum distribution (RMD).

There is a one-rollover-per-year rule that applies to IRA distributions. IRA-to-IRA or Roth IRA-to-Roth IRA rollovers are subject to the once-per-year rule. The account owner can only rollover IRA funds once every 12 months. The 12-month period is a full 12 months. Click to read about exceptions to the Once-Per-Year IRA Rollover Rule.

"Can I still make an IRA contribution? We get this question a lot at this time of year. A client has his tax return on extension, the return is being prepared now, can the client still make an IRA contribution? Click to find out.

Retirement planning is complicated. It's a personal and situational endeavor with plenty of possible pitfalls in the way of success. This week's Slott Report Mailbag illustrates several various situations in which the individual sought help from either publications or professionals and is still left confused. Click to read this week's Q&A with our IRA Technical Consultant.

I was appearing as a guest on a radio show yesterday when a listener called in, saying that his Roth IRA had lost substantial value. Ultimately, the caller wanted to know if he could claim a deduction for his Roth IRA loss. I told him that the answer was probably “no,” but that a question like that would be exceedingly difficult to answer for sure, given the time I had left on air. Here is a more detailed answer to his question.

Many advisors and the public have asked us about the status of Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) for 2014. QCDs, also known as charitable IRA rollovers, expired after December 31, 2013. While it was widely expected that Congress would reinstate them, as of today they have not yet been reinstated for 2014.

If your employer offers a SIMPLE IRA Plan, make sure to participate in it to get free money. A SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) IRA Plan is a company retirement that is set up by a business that has less than 100 employees. The rules require that each employee must establish his own SIMPLE IRA to receive the contributions. Click to learn how to get FREE money in a Simple IRA Plan.