Are you inheriting an IRA? Here is a quick checklist for you. This list is designed for individuals who inherit as named beneficiaries. Some items will be different for a spouse beneficiary or if an estate or a trust inherits an IRA.
We frequently see situations where the estate is the IRA beneficiary either because the beneficiary form was never completed, has been lost by the IRA custodian, or, worst of all, the account owner actually named the estate as the beneficiary of the IRA. What options do you have when the estate inherits the IRA? We explain below.
Can you believe that we are already in May? And in 2012 no less? In the spirit, somehow fast forwarding into the future and being in May of 2012, here are 12 things you may not do with your retirement account.1)
You may not convert or rollover a required minimum distribution (RMD). A year’s RMD must be taken prior to making any such transaction.2)
You may not claim “hardship” as an exception to the 10% early distribution penalty. No such exception exists!!3)
You may not name your estate as your IRA beneficiary if you want your beneficiaries to stretch your IRA. 4)
You may not make a Roth contribution for 2012 if your income is above certain thresholds. Click here to see those thresholds.5)
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This week's Slott Report Mailbag includes questions on taking required minimum distributions from Roth IRAs (do you have to?), handling 401(k)s and Roth IRAs and using trustee-to-trustee transfers to set you up for retirement.
There are many questions and circumstances to discuss when dealing with minor beneficiaries. This question-and-answer session is aimed to fill in some of the blanks and start a discussion with your financial advisor based on a foundational depth of knowledge.
IRAs are different, complicated, but in the end, a great avenue for retirement planning. In this week's Slott Report Mailbag, we answer questions on required minimum distribution rules (RMDs), IRA contribution limits and how to take withdrawals if you are a non-designated 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.
Ed Slott's video blog answers a consumer question on naming a minor as an IRA beneficiary. America's IRA Expert discusses the pluses and pitfalls of this approach as well as the possibility of using a trust in this process.
Before we even get to the RMDs, what exactly is a successor beneficiary? Let’s say that Great-Uncle Scott dies and leaves his IRA to his daughter Rosemary. Rosemary is the IRA beneficiary. Rosemary names her nephew James as her “successor” beneficiary. If Rosemary dies with funds remaining in her inherited IRA, then James will succeed to her remaining benefit – he becomes the successor beneficiary.
