"I leave the remainder of my assets to my children." Of all the provisions that may be found within your will or trust, this would seem to be one of the more straightforward of such items... right? Well, you might think so, but that’s not always the case.
According to the US Census Bureau, approximately 800,000 people are widowed each year in the United States, and “nearly 700,000 of them are women who lose their husbands.” One of the greatest economic challenges for a large portion of widows in America is higher income taxes when their spouse passes away. Don Rasmussen, member of Ed Slott's Elite IRA Advisor Group, outlines how widows can take control of required minimum distributions when their spouse passes away ... lowering their tax bill.
Your state may soon be getting into the IRA business. The Department of Labor (DOL) removed a major hurdle recently, when it issued final rules for state-run IRA programs. The final rules give states a safe harbor from Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) for state-run IRAs if certain conditions are met.
This week's Slott Report Mailbag follows up on Jeffrey Levine's capital gains tax strategy using a free step-up in basis and answers a question on net unrealized appreciation (NUA) benefits.
Last month TransAmerica released its 17th annual Retirement Survey of Workers. This year’s study, entitled Prospectives on Retirement: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, yielded some incredible information. Here are some of the most fascinating takeaways I found as I read through the study.
Even though it was 25 years ago, it seems like yesterday that my wife and I had our son evaluated by a pediatric specialist who told us our son would never live independently. When our child was diagnosed with a special need, our initial focus was on learning about the disability (autism), finding therapists and researching educational rights. Preparing for our child’s financial future (and even your own) was not an initial priority. The reality is that when there is a disabled child, the family financial plan has to span two generations rather than one. The following plan needs to take into account the potential for government benefits and, with any comprehensive plan, has to address how to minimize taxes.
This week's Slott Report Mailbag looks "superfunding" a 529 college plan and goes a step further on a question answered in last week's mailbag on IRA annuities.
On August 30, 2016 IRS released Announcement 2016-30 that allows for streamlining employer plan loan procedures and liberalizing hardship distribution rules for most employer plans. The following procedures are in effect until January 17, 2017 for victims of the storms and flooding in Louisiana that began on August 11, 2016.
There is good news for everyone with a retirement account. The IRS recently released Revenue Procedure 2016-47, which provides a new and easier way for you to complete a late 60-day rollover of retirement funds using a self-certification procedure. Here are 10 things you should know about this new procedure that just might save your retirement savings.
A holiday weekend version of The Slott Report Mailbag features questions concerning a 1099-R filing error, the possibility of converting an annuity to a Roth IRA and the viability of the often discussed (at least in this space) back-door Roth IRA.
