The question of Roth IRA conversion eligibility is one of the more popular inquiries we receive each week. The Roth IRA is such a powerful retirement planning vehicle that it is important to understand the conversion eligibility requirements. This IRAtv video talks about this very topic.
Kathryn Joosten passed away from lung cancer at the age of 72 last Friday. That name may not sound familiar to everyone, but fans of the hit TV show Desperate Housewives will recognize Joosten as the actress who played Karen McCluckey. And fans of retirement accounts will remember Kathryn for a slightly different reason. What in the world could an actress on Desperate Housewives have to do with retirement accounts? Funny “you” should ask.
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.
This IRAtv video from Ed Slott is about a recent Wall Street Journal article on the up-and-down value of gold and how you can recharacterize a Roth IRA conversion if the value of your investments go down. Ed breaks down the recharacterization process and uses gold as an example on the Roth recharacterization decision each investor must make with devalued investments.
The end of May brings the Memorial Day holiday and the start of the summer season. It's also the time that you will receive information about your IRA from your financial institution.
This week's Slott Report Mailbag includes questions on Roth conversions and contributions, the always-confusing Roth IRA 5-year rules and creditor protection for IRAs. Happy a happy, healthy Memorial Day weekend and thank you to the servicemen and women who risk their lives daily to defend and protect us.
Memorial Day is almost here, and it should serve as a reminder that we owe a great deal of thanks to all the members of our armed forces, both past and present. With that in mind, today we chose to highlight a couple of IRA-related tax breaks that are available to certain members of our military and their families.
In many of our writings we refer to the most popular types of qualified retirement plans, such as 403(b)s and 401(k)s. While these are two very distinct plans with many differing rules, they do share several commonalities. In particular, the main purpose of each is to provide participants with an easy venue for saving and investing for retirement on a tax-beneficial basis. Both have taken a more prominent role as employers continue to jettison traditional pension plans.
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!
