Age 70 ½ Confusion for Retirement Accounts
Required minimum distributions (RMDs) must begin from most of your retirement accounts at age 70 ½. But it is not as easy as just looking at when you are 70 ½.
IRA
How to Avoid a Penalty on Your Excess IRA Contribution
Did you make your IRA contribution for 2016? If you did, you may want to take some time now during tax season to be sure your contribution is an allowable contribution and not an excess contribution.
Conquer Your Fear of Tax Season
One of the most common questions asked during tax season is, “Do I have to file a tax return?” The answer, of course, is a bit complicated, but in general, if your income is equal to or greater than the sum of the standard deduction plus your personal exemption, you must file a return. The standard deduction is higher for those 65 or older, so age makes a difference in some cases.
An IRA Beneficiary Quiz. Can You Pass this Exam?
Most people think it is easy to leave an IRA to their heirs. But is it? The following is a quick quiz. How many of these beneficiary questions can you get correct? The answers are at the end of the quiz.
Sometimes the Score at Halftime DOES Matter
On Sunday night we were treated to the first ever overtime in Superbowl history. It was a great game (with a lousy outcome – sorry, not a Pats fan). Of course, what most people will remember is that the Patriots finished off what may be the greatest comeback in sports history (that hurts to say), and that it was only the score at the end of the game that mattered. That may be true for the Superbowl, but it’s not always the case. As it turns out, sometimes the score at halftime does matter.
5 Things Every Roth IRA Owner Should Know Before Taking a Distribution
Are you one of the growing number of savers who has a Roth IRA? If so, there will come a time when you will want to take funds from your account. Here are 5 things that every Roth IRA owner should know before taking a distribution.
What Happens When Beneficiaries do Not Split the Inherited IRA?
Generally, the goal when naming IRA beneficiaries is that they will stretch out their distributions on the inherited IRA for as long as possible. The tax code and regulations currently support this goal by stating that the stretch option is the default option. But, of course, there are certain rules that must be followed. The IRA agreement must allow for a stretch option. As unbelievable as it may seem, there are still IRA custodians that do not offer a stretch option to beneficiaries.
Why You May Reconsider Naming Your Trust as Your IRA Beneficiary
IRAs have been around for decades. You may have had your IRA for years. Maybe many years ago, when you established your IRA, you named a trust as the beneficiary and haven’t thought a lot about it since. You likely spent both time and money drafting the trust and were careful to name the trust on your IRA beneficiary form. Here are some reasons why it might be worth it to reconsider that decision.
Yes, You Actually CAN Do That
Last week my Slott Report article created something of a firestorm in my email inbox. Shortly after it was posted I began to receive a litany of emails, all written very respectfully, but all of which said my post was incorrect and that revisions were necessary in order to avoid Slott Report readers from making errors with respect to their planning. To recap the article and the point of contention in a nutshell; I gave the hypothetical of a married couple, of which one spouse was about to pass and owned stock in his name only at a loss. I then suggested that a sly strategy would be to gift that stock to the other spouse prior to the owner-spouse’s death so as to preserve the potential loss.
HSAs Are NOT the Answer to America’s Health Insurance Problems
In my opinion, expanding the availability of HSAs to more Americans is not going to solve the problem of providing health insurance to all Americans. Here is why I believe that statement.
Content Citation Guidelines
Below is the required verbiage that must be added to any re-branded piece from Ed Slott and Company, LLC or IRA Help, LLC. The verbiage must be used any time you take text from a piece and put it onto your own letterhead, within your newsletter, on your website, etc. Verbiage varies based on where you’re taking the content from.
Please be advised that prior to distributing re-branded content, you must send a proof to [email protected] for approval.
For white papers/other outflow pieces:
Copyright © [year of publication], [Ed Slott and Company, LLC or IRA Help, LLC – depending on what it says on the original piece] Reprinted with permission [Ed Slott and Company, LLC or IRA Help, LLC – depending on what it says on the original piece] takes no responsibility for the current accuracy of this information.
For charts:
Copyright © [year of publication], Ed Slott and Company, LLC Reprinted with permission Ed Slott and Company, LLC takes no responsibility for the current accuracy of this information.
For Slott Report articles:
Copyright © [year of article], Ed Slott and Company, LLC Reprinted from The Slott Report, [insert date of article], with permission. [Insert article URL] Ed Slott and Company, LLC takes no responsibility for the current accuracy of this article.
Please contact Matt Smith at [email protected] or (516) 536-8282 with any questions.