Site search

Summer is over, kids are returning to school and we are all getting back into a regular work schedule. Now is the best time to learn how to maximize your company-sponsored retirement plan. Ed Slott and Company IRA Technical Consultant Jeffrey Levine details 3 ways to maximize your retirement plan in this IRAtv video shown below.

When you open a new IRA, certain forms and paperwork must be filled out. Failure to do so can result in large IRS penalties and other harsh tax consequences as a recent court case showed.

The unofficial end of summer comes with the Labor Day weekend...where did time go? Time does in fact fly, which makes planning for your future today more important. After all, tomorrow will be here before we know it. This week's Slott Report Mailbag includes questions (and our answers) on the Roth IRA 5-year rules and the best ways to leave an inheritance to younger beneficiaries.

When a Roth IRA owner dies, the money belongs to the beneficiary. Although Roth IRA owners never have to take minimum distributions during their lifetime, the beneficiary must take distributions after the Roth IRA owner dies. Roth IRA beneficiaries have the same after-death stretch opportunity as if they inherited a traditional IRA. There are two options for you as the beneficiary of a Roth IRA, which we explain below.

Almost all IRA owners will name a primary beneficiary of their IRA; usually some person who will receive your IRA assets after you die, such as your wife or husband or children. Virtually all IRA custodians will also allow you to name a contingent beneficiary.

Ed Slott, America's IRA Expert, details the IRA rollover rules and procedures so you can avoid needless taxes and penalties on your rollovers from employer plans (401(k)s for example) to IRAs or from one IRA to another IRA. Ed Slott takes you through the steps to IRA rollover success! View this IRAtv video below.

Let's assume you have an IRA or retirement plan or annuity or even life insurance. All of those things have a beneficiary form. They do not pass through your will and they are not probate assets as long as you have completed or updated the beneficiary form.

Can you believe summer is almost over? Yet, The Slott Report Mailbag was full of pertinent IRA and retirement planning questions from consumers who are trying to make the right decisions as the dog days rapidly turn into fall. This week's installment includes questions (and our answers) on the 60-day deadline on Roth IRA rollovers, 10% penalty exceptions and Roth IRA conversions.

Can you believe it? We're now 7 full months into 2012 already. And while there's more fun in the sun to be had before summer comes to an end, August has traditionally signaled the start of the back to school season. With that in mind, we thought we'd spend a little time talking about the educational expense exception to the 10% penalty.

Many of you have stepchildren. It's perfectly fine to name stepchildren as the beneficiary of your retirement funds. However, care must be taken when naming them as the beneficiary.