Site search

Life insurance is not only the single biggest benefit in the tax code, but it is also the most cost effective way to protect a large-balance IRA. Many owners of large-balance IRAs are concerned about protecting IRA values during volatile markets. Life insurance proceeds can do just that with its incredible leverage.

Ed Slott's video blog answers a consumer question on naming a minor as an IRA beneficiary. America's IRA Expert discusses the pluses and pitfalls of this approach as well as the possibility of using a trust in this process.

Let's assume you did the unforgiveable and took a distribution from your IRA (or other retirement plan) that was payable to you, other than a required distribution. Within 60 days you presented the funds to an IRA (or Roth IRA) custodian for redeposit. Then something happened and the funds do not end up in an IRA (or Roth IRA) account. You do not discover the error immediately. Typically it is discovered at tax time. What are your options?

This week's Slott Report Mailbag features questions (and our answers) about inherited IRAs, SEP IRAs and Net Unrealized Appreciation. Quick to read a Q&A with our IRA Technical Consultants.

Have you ever received an email, text message or automated phone call from what appears to be your bank or other financial institution warning you that there is a problem with your account? Perhaps you’ve received one informing you that your account has been locked due to too many unsuccessful attempts to access the account, or some other reason that requires you to “verify” or “confirm” your information and/or identity in order to fix the problem?

Ed Slott discusses Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's unorthodox IRA in this video blog. Ed walks you through Romney's reported account value, its pitfalls, tax expenses and what steps he should take now to avoid problems down the road in this video. This issue has come up several times in discussions about Romney's reported wealth, his assets and the release of his tax returns.

You have just inherited an IRA or employer plan from someone other than your spouse. What now?

This week's Slott Report Mailbag delves into the oftentimes complicated world of required minimum distributions (RMDs). We look at RMDs after conversions, recharacterizations and the "still-working" exception. We also answer a question about when you can recharacterize a Roth IRA conversion.

IRS regulations governing required minimum distributions (RMDs) from IRAs and employer-sponsored retirement plans were in proposed form only from 1987-2000. Sweeping changes to these proposed regulations in 2001 led to the issuance of long-awaited final regulations in 2002, dramatically altering the way owners and beneficiaries of these accounts and plans calculate the distributions they are mandated to take from them.

Things in life change every year. You get a new job. You lose a job. You get divorced. You get re-marriaged. Other life events such as death or the birth of a child also trigger retirement plan changes. Ed Slott details the events to watch out for and the important papers that will need updating in this video.