The Slott Report

After Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in 2017, Congress passed special legislation allowing expanded access to retirement plan funds for individuals affected by those storms.

SIMPLE IRAs are popular retirement vehicles for small businesses. They are relatively cheap to adopt and are easy to understand and administer. However, that doesn’t mean problems do not arise.

Hi Mr. Slott,I have been to several of your IRA continuing workshops over the years. Today I had someone in my office that stated they have not taken the rmd from an inherited IRA for 9 years. Whats your advice in this situation. Thank you for you help in this matter.

IRA owners can clearly combine the accounts they own and they can combine the required minimum distributions (RMDs) from multiple IRAs and take them from any one or combination of their IRAs. But what are the rules for inherited IRAs?

Legal training is less about memorization and more about understanding how to break down complex problems. With that mind, I often suggest that people understand the law and not try to memorize it.

Hi, I am an advisor and attended the Instant IRA Success workshop in 2017 and found it really useful in my practice. I have a client situation I am trying to clarify and am sure you can help. The client ( husband )passed away on December 27, 2017 at age 82 and was taking RMDs from his IRA.

I just had a call from an advisor with a “complicated” scenario. “Ralph” died and left his IRA to his spouse “Alice.” Ralph was 62 in the year he died.

Generally, taking distributions from an IRA or qualified plan before retirement age should be a last resort. Of course, life has its unexpected pitfalls and at times, earlier access to these funds is necessary.

Question:Hi Ed:I have been reading you for more than 20 years – thank you for all your contributions to our industry.I have a client (about to be over 70 ½) whose new employer told him that he should roll all of his old employer plans and IRAs over to the new employer’s 403b plan (in which he is participating), for the purpose of avoiding having to take RMDs when he turns 70 ½.

The news has been filled with reports of the flooding and damage in North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Florence. As the cleanup continues, the IRS has announced tax relief for the storm’s victims.