The Slott Report

Sarah Brenner, JDDirector of Retirement Education The new required minimum distribution (RMD) rules recently issued by the IRS include some...

By Ian Berger, JDIRA Analyst Question: Under IRS rules, if I am currently receiving required minimum distributions (RMDs) and die...

In my August 19 Slott Report (“Year of Death RMD – Deadline Extended!”), I wrote about the required beginning date, who takes the year-of-death required minimum distribution (RMD), and the deadline for taking that distribution. Today’s article focuses on an additional nuance of the year-of-death RMD – something created by the final regulations (released July 18, 2024) - that could make taking the year-of-death RMD a little clunky in some situations.

If you have multiple traditional IRAs and want to do a 60-day rollover (or Roth conversion) in a year when a required minimum distribution (RMD) is due, the IRS has a surprise for you.

QUESTION:I have been getting emails from a few sites pitching their subscriptions. They claim that Roth IRAs will all be taxable in the future. They say there are things you can do to avoid these taxes, but to find out what they are you have to subscribe to their newsletter. Is this true, and if so, how can one avoid taxes for Roth IRAs?

In 2020, the SECURE Act completely changed the game for nonspouse IRA beneficiaries. Now, most are subject to the 10-year payout rule. Recently released final RMD rules keep the controversial proposed rule that requires many beneficiaries subject to the 10-year rule to also take annual required minimum distributions (RMDs) during the 10-year period.

When a person reaches the required beginning date (RBD) – generally April 1 of the year after the year the person turns age 73 – required minimum distributions (RMDs) must officially start on traditional IRAs. But what if an IRA owner dies in a year when the RMD is due, but before the full RMD has been paid out?

Question:Hello,I'm in my sixties, in the golden years for Roth conversions, which I've been doing. I've had a small Roth IRA account for more than 5 years. Last year I converted $90,000. This year will be about the same.

If you have both pre-tax and Roth accounts in a 401(k) (or a 403(b) or governmental 457(b)) and are subject to required minimum distributions (RMDs), be aware of new rule changes made in the 2022 SECURE 2.0 law. The rules were clarified in the IRS RMD final regulations, which came out on July 18.

Of all the many provisions in the SECURE 2.0 Act, none has been more perplexing than Section 327, which changed the rules for spouse beneficiaries. It has been hard to figure out what Congress intended in drafting section 327. The legislative history is scant.