Today is a very special day here at the Slott Report. Why is that, you ask? Well, today is the start of a brand new feature here at the blog called "5 Quick Questions." From time to time you will see new 5 Quick Questions on all sorts of IRA and retirement account related topics.
We received an IRA mailbag question from Greg, who wanted to know if he could consolidate all of his separate converted Roth IRA funds into one account. Two important factors to answer this question are: 1) how long have the converted funds been in the Roth IRA? 2) how old is Greg?
An employer retirement plan, such as 401(k) plan may provide for hardship distributions. A hardship distribution must be for an immediate and heavy financial need of the employee, his spouse, or dependent. Hardship distributions are generally taxable and cannot be rolled over to an IRA or other retirement plan. They are also subject to the 10% early distribution penalty (unless an exception applies).
This week's Slott Report Mailbag includes questions on earned income for IRA contributions, required minimum distributions (RMDs) in the year of death and non-spouse IRA beneficiaries. Click to read a Q&A with our IRA Technical Consultant.
The Roth IRA 5-Year Rules are some of the most difficult to understand for the average American, and they are laced with potential pitfalls of taxes and penalties if you don't proceed with caution and expert advice. Ed Slott details all of the answers in this IRAtv video on what money you can take out of a Roth IRA...and when!
Have you ever received an email, text message or automated phone call from what appears to be your bank or other financial institution warning you that there is a problem with your account? Perhaps you’ve received one informing you that your account has been locked due to too many unsuccessful attempts to access the account, or some other reason that requires you to “verify” or “confirm” your information and/or identity in order to fix the problem?
Ed Slott discusses Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's unorthodox IRA in this video blog. Ed walks you through Romney's reported account value, its pitfalls, tax expenses and what steps he should take now to avoid problems down the road in this video. This issue has come up several times in discussions about Romney's reported wealth, his assets and the release of his tax returns.
You have just inherited an IRA or employer plan from someone other than your spouse. What now?
IRS regulations governing required minimum distributions (RMDs) from IRAs and employer-sponsored retirement plans were in proposed form only from 1987-2000. Sweeping changes to these proposed regulations in 2001 led to the issuance of long-awaited final regulations in 2002, dramatically altering the way owners and beneficiaries of these accounts and plans calculate the distributions they are mandated to take from them.
Things in life change every year. You get a new job. You lose a job. You get divorced. You get re-marriaged. Other life events such as death or the birth of a child also trigger retirement plan changes. Ed Slott details the events to watch out for and the important papers that will need updating in this video.
