The Slott Report

Question:I understand that my kids will need to empty my Roth IRA in 10 years, but do they need to take RMDs in years 1 through 9? I am beyond my RMD age.

If ever I was traveling from Los Angeles to Atlanta, I would choose a direct flight with no layovers. I want the most efficient route to my destination. Point A to Point B. Take off, land. Assuming no difference in ticket price and all things being equal, if another LAX to ATL itinerary included a stop in, say, Chicago, would there be any reason to take it? Why pass through another airport in another city when I can fly direct?

The August 28, 2023 Slott Report summarized IRS Notice 2023-62, where the IRS delayed the effective date of the SECURE 2.0 rule requiring catch-up contributions by higher-paid older employees to be made on a Roth basis.

Question:My name is Bruce. I am 65 years old, and I have a question about the SECURE Act.My mother died at age 89 on April 19, 2023, and I inherited her IRA. She had been receiving RMDs for years and most recently filed her 2022 tax return indicating she had received her last RMD in December 2022.

Many IRA assets will ultimately go to nonspouse beneficiaries. When these beneficiaries inherit the funds, special rules kick in. Inherited IRAs are not like your own personal IRA account. Here are seven rules for inherited IRAs that may surprise you if you are a nonspouse beneficiary:

Question:Hello,If you do a Roth conversion from an IRA, does that qualify as your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year? Or is it separate and apart from the RMD?Thank you,

The lunacy of IRA beneficiary payout rules continues to boggle the mind. As I guide advisors through the options available to their clients, various nuances present one unique scenario after another. Did the original IRA owner pass away before or after the establishment of the SECURE Act? How old was the person when they died? Who was the beneficiary? Is this a successor beneficiary situation? Ultimately, by following the individual fact patterns, definitive answers materialize.

Last Friday afternoon (August 25, 2023), the IRS gave employer plans two more years to comply with the controversial SECURE 2.0 rule requiring “catch-up contributions” for high-paid employees to be made on a Roth basis. The effective date of the rule was postponed from January 1, 2024 to January 1, 2026. The delay is set forth in IRS Notice 2023-62.

QUESTION:Hello! I recently came across one of your articles and decided to reach out to you in hopes of getting some clarification re: the Secure Act 2.0 and distributions as a qualified public safety employee. In a nutshell, I am a 17-year career firefighter for a county government. With the new Secure Act 2.0, it seems as though I can take distributions after 25 years of service, OR age 50, whichever comes first, without penalty. If this is true, would I be eligible to begin taking distributions at age 47, without penalty?

We are often asked how the Roth IRA 5-year rule works. This is a borderline trick question because there is not one 5-year rule for Roth IRA distributions. There are actually two different 5-year rules. So, to avoid confusion, let’s talk separately about each 5-year rule.