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For an area as highly regulated as IRAs and company plans, it’s not surprising that there’s a ton of abbreviated terms to keep track of. Here’s 18 common ones that you should know: CARES Act. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. A law enacted on March 27, 2020 that, among other items, waived RMDs for 2020 and allowed CRDs. CRD. Coronavirus-related distribution. A penalty-free distribution, up to $100,000, that certain COVID-affected individuals were eligible to receive from IRAs and company plans in 2020.

If you’re a dedicated Ed Slott and Company fan, at this point, you’ve likely heard about my upcoming new book, The New Retirement Savings Time Bomb (Penguin Random House, 2021). If you haven’t, then you’ve come to the right place to get a sneak peek of the timely, all-encompassing content it contains to navigate the retirement planning landscape in 2021 and beyond. It’s already a #1 new release in the retirement planning category on Amazon, and it’s still only available for presale!

Have you contributed to a Roth IRA for 2020? If you have not, you still have some time. The deadline for making a prior year contribution is the tax-filing deadline, not including any extensions you might have. For 2020, that deadline is April 15, 2021.

When we think of rollovers, we normally think of moving funds from a 401(k) (or other company plan) to an IRA. But it sometimes makes sense to consider a “reverse rollover” – from an IRA to a 401(k).

Question: Hi, I have a client that took a $14k IRA distribution on 1/10/2021 and another $14k distribution on 2/10/2021. He wants to replace all $28k using the 60 day rollover as funds are no longer needed. Does the 60 day rollover rule allow him to replace all 28k (from both distributions) within 60 days from the first distribution on 1/10/2021? Or does the 60 day rollover rule only allow him to just replace one distribution taken (even though both were taken within 60 days of each other)? Thus, he can only put back $14k

Surprisingly, the rules governing what happens when an ex-spouse acquires a Roth IRA after divorce are unclear. There are no specific directions in the Tax Code or in the regulations. However, there is definitive guidance for a spouse who inherits a Roth IRA due to death. It makes sense to look to these rules after death for direction on how to process a Roth IRA transfer after a divorce. Of course, with no definitive route, this is only speculation until the IRS provides a roadmap.

It is early 2021 and two ingredients mix again: retirement money in motion, and required minimum distributions (RMDs). This may not appear to be a dangerous concoction, but when improperly combined, the results can be a bitter beverage. Required minimum distributions cannot be rolled over, period.

A Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) is a popular choice for many small employers. Although these plans are in fact designed to be less complex than other types of retirement plans, there are many ways to go wrong and make errors. Here are three tips to avoid tax problems with your SEP.

The Internal Revenue Code is over 4,000 pages of often unintelligible tax jargon. So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the law contains more than its share of baffling and inconsistent provisions. Here are four examples pertaining to IRAs and company retirement plans:

Here we go again…barreling headlong into another tax season. This year will be like no other. With all the crazy that was 2020, many tax filers will discover some new and interesting items on their tax returns. For example – did you take a Coronavirus-related distribution (CRD) last year? That will require some additional reporting (Form 8915-E). Did you take your required minimum distribution in 2020, but then repay it after the CARES Act RMD waiver? That will generate a form you may not be familiar with (Form 5498).