financial advisor

IRA Statements You Will Receive in May

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.

Roth Conversions and Contributions, Creditor Protection Highlight Mailbag

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.

Are 401(k)s and 403(b)s Different?

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.

Video: Roth IRA 5-Year Rules: What Money Can You Pull Out…and When?

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!

IRA Rollover Rules, Roth IRA Contributions Highlight Slott Report Mailbag

This week's Slott Report Mailbag includes questions on the IRA rollover rules, making Roth IRA contributions from 457(b) required minimum distributions (RMDs) and the 60-Day rollover rule as it applies to 401(k) plans. We answered the mail this week from the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, where we are stationed all week for Ed Slott's Elite and Master Elite IRA Advisor Group Workshop.

Spousal Beneficiaries, Inherited IRAs and RMD Questions Highlight Mailbag

This week's Slott Report Mailbag answers questions about spousal beneficiaries, inherited IRAs and keeping the Stretch IRA provision (biggest benefit in the tax code!) for your heirs and required minimum distributions.  As always, we stress the importance of working with a competent, educated financial advisor to keep your retirement nest egg safe and secure. Find one in your area at this link.1.Ed:I have your book, but unfortunately it is at my cabin so I don't have access right now. I am inheriting a Roth IRA from my wife, who recently passed away at 65. It was converted to a Roth in December 2008. First question: Is it better to keep it as a separate Roth IRA, or add it into my existing Roth IRA?

Reporting Lump-Sum Distributions

Recently, we wrote about potential tax advantages available to individuals who receive lump sum distributions from employer-sponsored qualified retirement plans. Both articles confirmed that to qualify for either one of these provisions a lump-sum distribution must be received in one taxable year. This has prompted many questions on how lump-sum distributions are reported and taxed on an individual’s income tax return.

MarketWatch Video: Ed Slott on Reducing Your Tax Hit

In an interview with MarketWatch's Andrea Coombes, Ed Slott and Jack Nuckolls discuss strategies to reduce your tax bill before 2013. Taxes are going up (tax on investment income, 3.8% healthcare surtax, income tax rates for the highest earners are heading to 39.6%), and Ed provides several strategies you can use to avoid the uncertainty of future tax rates.

Ed Slott Video: Stretch IRA Elimination Proposal

Ed Slott, America's IRA Expert, talks about a once-proposed (and recently dropped) provision in the Highway Investment Job Creation and Economic Growth Act of 2012 that would have destroyed the Stretch (inherited) IRA. This provision would have killed a financial legacy for beneficiaries. Ed Slott discusses the provision and how it indicates Congress' line of thinking with IRAs, and more specifically, Stretch IRAs. He also mentions proactive planning strategies to simulate the benefits of a Stretch IRA.

Ed Slott Video: Naming a Trust as an IRA Beneficiary

Sometimes, you want to leave your IRA to a minor beneficiary but don't trust him or her to leave the inheritance alone once they turn legal age. One way around this is to use a trust. Ed Slott, America's IRA Expert, answers a listener's question about this very topic and provides some information on how to go through the process properly as well as the pros and cons.

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