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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.

In a recent case, the US District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana ruled that despite having previously named his three children as beneficiaries of his 401(k) plan, Leonard Kidder's 401(k) balance would pass to his new wife. The Court's ruling illustrates just how difficult it can be to remove a spouse as the beneficiary of an ERISA governed plan, such as a 401(k).

In 2010, the IRA contribution limit was the lesser of $5,000 or earned income. If you were 50 or older by the end of 2010 then an additional $1,000 catch-up contribution is allowed, for a total of $6,000. The same limits also apply to Roth IRAs, but they are not independent of one another. Click to read more about excess IRA contributions.

March Madness is upon us and we are down to the Final Four. No, we're not talking about college basketball here… we're talking rollover mistakes. The following is our Final Four list of irrevocable rollover mistakes.

This is the time of the year when missed required distributions (RMDs) for the prior year surface. Do you know what needs to be done to correct the situation?

Ed Slott has talked about "Reporting Roth IRA conversions" in all of his seminars, and The Slott Report has touched on the subject in multiple entries over the last few weeks. Ed wrote a March 20th article for Investment News about the avalanche of questions about to come in (if they haven't already) on Form 8606. It has been around for years--but it will never be as popular as this year because of two key tax law changes in 2010.

Welcome to this month’s installment of Are You an IRA Expert? Always thought you knew more than the next guy about IRAs and retirement accounts? Well now’s your chance to prove it. Below are three questions, ranging from beginner to expert. Test your IRA skills by trying to get all three right!

Two information-packed articles on "saving" came out today, and they are very beneficial to your retirement planning and IRA planning in general. Click to read more about "Roth IRA: A Great Way to Save for College" and "Many not saving enough for golden years."

Horror stories are tough to hear. Below we share a story from someone given poor advice by his financial advisor. We also answer two other questions in this week's installment of The Slott Report Mailbag.

Do you have a Required Minimum Distribution in 2011? These questions come up at the beginning of each year. When do I have to take my first distribution? What age do I use? Do I have to wait until I actually turn 70 ½? Click to read the answers to these questions.