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The big issue in the news these days is how to resolve the "debt ceiling" issue. In essence, our legislators are just trying to figure out how much of a loan, as a nation, we can take. As the events of the recent past have taught us, borrowing can be a dangerous game, but when it comes to IRAs, borrowing can be more than just dangerous. It can be a fatal error that can decimate a lifetime of savings.

The main perk of retirement is freedom. The freedom to sleep in late. The freedom to play golf five days a week. The freedom to talk about the laughs and tears of the last 30 years. This comic illustrates one of the great benefits of retirement...well, along with a safe and secure stack of money to afford you a comfortable, enjoyable trip through your golden years.

Retirement is sometimes, especially in this economic climate, NOT planned. That is why proactive planning at a young age (when you start working) is so important.

Taxpayers believe that because they have already paid the income tax on Roth IRAs that the Roth IRA balance will not be included in the estate for estate tax purposes. As the title indicates, your IRA or Roth IRA will be included as part of your taxable estate at your death. Click to read more about where it says this.

A provision in the tax code allows use of a special formula called “ten year income averaging” by qualifying individuals or their beneficiaries to determine the tax liability with respect to a lump sum distribution they may receive from an employer-sponsored qualified plan or annuity. To qualify for 10 year income averaging, the following six tests must be met.

Click to read how spousal rollovers and the RMD for year of death should work under the IRA rules.

When does the beneficiary form not trump all? IRA Technical Consultant Jeffrey Levine wrote an article this week for Producer's eSource about a court case (Cajun Industries, LLC vs. Korbert Kidder, et al.) in which a plan participant's second marriage inadvertently disinherited the children from receiving all of the retirement account savings.

Let me start out by saying there is no such thing as a hardship withdrawal from an IRA. An IRA owner generally has unlimited access to their IRA funds for any reason whatsoever (unless they are in an investment that limits their access). There is no age restriction on taking a withdrawal from the IRA. So, there is no need to prove a hardship. So, there is no need to prove a hardship. BUT, if you do take a withdrawal before you are age 59 ½, then there is an extra tax to pay.

Roth IRA questions continue to come in to advisors. Click to read this week's top question.

IRD is taxable income that was earned but not received by an individual prior to his or her death. It is taxed in the same manner to the recipient as it would have been to the decedent had he or she lived to collect it. Good examples of IRD include deferred compensation, series EE savings bonds and date of death balances in IRAs and other tax-deferred retirement plans, just to name a few.