The Slott Report

You have just inherited an IRA or employer plan from someone other than your spouse. What now?

This week's Slott Report Mailbag delves into the oftentimes complicated world of required minimum distributions (RMDs). We look at RMDs after conversions, recharacterizations and the "still-working" exception. We also answer a question about when you can recharacterize a Roth IRA conversion.

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.

This question comes up ever January. Can I still do a Roth conversion for last year? After all, I have until April 15th to make a contribution to my IRA or Roth IRA for last year, so can I still do a conversion for last year?

This week's Slott Report Mailbag answers questions on inherited IRAs (beneficiary forms vs. wills), splitting an IRA at death and IRA contributions.

It's a New Year, and Ed Slott brings you his 3 New Year's Retirement Planning Resolutions in this week's video blog. We hope you enjoy the video and make sure to share it with friends, family and colleagues as well as view more videos at our YouTube page.

If you don't need all the funds currently in your IRA you might want to "stretch" them. This refers to the process of extending the term of your IRA over multiple lifetimes through the use of existing distribution rules, the power of tax beneficial compounding and sound estate planning techniques.

I just read a private letter ruling (PLR) issued by IRS allowing an individual extra time to complete a rollover of his IRA assets so that they would not be treated as a taxable distribution. Here is what happened.

This week's Slott Report Mailbag includes several questions on issues not handled by year-end that have carried over into the first month of 2012. One reader also asks our advice on using an IRA to fund a share in a contracted apartment building.