The Slott Report

What Life Expectancy Table Should an IRA Inheritor Use to Calculate Required Distributions Moving Forward?

This week's Slott Report Mailbag looks at utilizing the pro-rata rule to calculate tax consequences for your Roth IRA conversion plus what life expectancy table an IRA inheritor should use to calculate their RMDs (required minimum distributions) moving forward. As always, we recommend you work with a competent, educated financial advisor to keep your retirement nest egg safe and secure. You can find one in your area here.

New Guidance Opens the Door to Tax-free Roth IRA Conversions of Certain Retirement Funds

Moments ago the IRS released new guidance – IRS Notice 2014-54 – regarding distributions from company retirement plans when there are both pre and post-tax money in those accounts. For years now, one question has plagued both plan participants and financial advisors alike… “If someone has a 401(k) with pre and post-tax money, can they take a distribution and roll (convert) just the post-tax money to a Roth IRA tax-free, while rolling the remaining pre-tax money over to a traditional IRA?” What's the answer now?

Government Study Shines Light on IRAs: Popular and Ripe For The Picking

Yesterday the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a study on IRA balances accumulated as of 2011. The report provides some fascinating information about the number of people who have IRAs, as well as the staggering amounts that some people have accumulated in them. While there are many points that can be taken away from the study, here are three that may be of particular interest.

4 Ways Smart IRA Planning Can Help You Pay Less for College

With college expenses at some of the best schools now exceeding $60,000 per year, education related expenses are fast becoming one of the biggest obstacles many baby boomers face when saving for their own retirement. For many families, planning for a college education goes hand in hand with IRA’s and retirement planning. Below are three ways smart IRA planning can help you pay less for college.

Leaving a Legacy: 3 Differences Between Roth IRAs and Life Insurance

Life insurance and Roth IRAs have a lot in common. They are both often used as wealth transfer tools to help facilitate an efficient transfer of assets from one generation to the next, and they are both able to provide a tax-free legacy, just to name a few. Despite their many similarities, however, Roth IRAs and life insurance are very different and the rules that apply to one don’t always apply to the other. In fact, more often than not, that’s the case. Below, we discuss three such examples.

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Deadline for Starting a New SIMPLE IRA Plan for This Year Fast Approaching

If you own a business and you’re thinking about starting a retirement plan for 2014, you may want to look at a SIMPLE IRA Plan (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees). We look at the plan's basic tenets and urge interested parties to plan now. The deadline for starting a new SIMPLE IRA plan for this year is right around the corner.