The Slott Report

This week's Slott Report Mailbag answers a couple questions regarding beneficiaries of an IRA.

The word “rollover” is used frequently in writing and talking about distributions from retirement plans. Many times it is used incorrectly. It is crucial that retirement account owners and their advisors know the meaning of the word rollover to safegaurd their savings.

This week's Slott Report Mailbag examines required distributions and moving IRA money to a charity.

Distributions taken from an IRA before attaining the age of 59 ½ are generally subject to an early distribution penalty of 10% of the taxable amount of the distribution. Congress put the penalty in place to deter IRA owners from using their funds before their retirement. However, Congress also realized that sometimes we really do have a need for these funds so they made some exceptions to the penalty. One of these exceptions is the disability exception. But there is a catch.

Distributions taken from an IRA before attaining the age of 59 ½ are generally subject to an early distribution penalty of 10% of the taxable amount of the distribution. Congress put the penalty in place to deter IRA owners from using their funds before their retirement. However, Congress also realized that sometimes we really do have a need for these funds so they made some exceptions to the penalty. One of these exceptions is the disability exception. But there is a catch.

This week's Slott Report Mailbag examines ERISA creditor protection differences for 401(k)s and IRAs and answers a consumer's question on funding a Roth IRA.

Are you considering converting your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA in 2016? If you are making this important decision, here are 6 things you will want to know.

Multiple studies suggest that we often end up retiring earlier than initially anticipated or hoped. One study by JPMorgan Asset Management found that although two-thirds of current workers plan to continue working until age 65, fewer than one in four actually manage to do so. Although the reasons vary, premature retirement poses a two-fold portfolio stress - a shorter accumulation time and a longer withdrawal period. It also presents a potential tax complication when you've not reached 59 ½ - that magic age at which you can withdraw retirement money without an additional 10% premature distribution penalty.

Ed Slott and Company Chief Retirement Strategist Jeffrey Levine sat down with The Wall Street Journal's Veronica Dagher to discuss how the presidential candidates - Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Gary Johnson - want to handle Social Security and other retirement planning issues.

In 2006, Alan, a strapping young man who had just turned 50, collapsed and died of a massive heart attack while attending Sunday morning Mass with his wife Karen. Alan and Karen co-owned a business. Alan was a contractor and Karen handled the accounting and billing. Karen was fairly savvy financially. However, because she felt she had to get everything settled “right away” after Alan’s passing, she made several costly mistakes. It's a story you and your clients can learn from.