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My wife’s father passed recently and left her a Roth. The Roth was converted from a traditional IRA in 2010,...

Wait a minute? Isn’t the deadline for making an IRA or Roth IRA contribution the tax filing deadline, not including extensions? You bet your bottom dollar it is! Then how, you might ask, can you possibly make a 2011 IRA contribution on May 9, 2012 – well after the general filing deadline of April 17, 2012? We'll tell you!

We have previously written about a "lack of financial literacy," indicating that many individuals don't know or understand the benefits of IRAs or saving for retirement. Help set up your children and grandchildren for a successful financial future!

Many IRA owners do not realize that they can only do one IRA-to-IRA or Roth-to-Roth rollover, per IRA or Roth IRA account, per year. If you have more than one IRA or Roth account, you can do one rollover from each account. So you could do five rollovers when you have five IRAs. If you do a rollover on April 20th, you cannot do another rollover from that account until the next April 20th.

When I turned 59 1/2, and each year thereafter, I converted some traditional IRA money into one of my ROTH...

This week's Slott Report Mailbag includes questions (and our answers) on the income requirements for a Roth IRA contribution, SEP IRAs and governmental 457(b) plans. As always, we stress the importance of working with a competent, educated financial advisor to keep your retirement nest egg safe and secure. Find one in your area at this link.1.

Is a monthly retirement check considered income in order to open a Roth IRA? 


Answer:An IRA contribution must be based on the taxable compensation of the individual for the year of the contribution. Pension, profit sharing or IRA distributions are not considered compensation for the purpose of a contribution to an IRA.

Can you believe that we are already in May? And in 2012 no less? In the spirit, somehow fast forwarding into the future and being in May of 2012, here are 12 things you may not do with your retirement account.1) You may not convert or rollover a required minimum distribution (RMD). A year’s RMD must be taken prior to making any such transaction.2) You may not claim “hardship” as an exception to the 10% early distribution penalty. No such exception exists!!3) You may not name your estate as your IRA beneficiary if you want your beneficiaries to stretch your IRA. 4) You may not make a Roth contribution for 2012 if your income is above certain thresholds. Click here to see those thresholds.5) You

Hello, Note the following and my assumptions. Please provide your feedback/input where applicable in terms of whether my understanding of...

There was earlier discussion on this topic. One point of clarification needed: If a plan is a standard 401k without...

As a successor trustee, beginning in 2002, for my aunt and uncle’s Trust I’ve been trying to sort out various...