Life insurance and Roth IRAs have a lot in common. They are both often used as wealth transfer tools to help facilitate an efficient transfer of assets from one generation to the next, and they are both able to provide a tax-free legacy, just to name a few. Despite their many similarities, however, Roth IRAs and life insurance are very different and the rules that apply to one don’t always apply to the other. In fact, more often than not, that’s the case. Below, we discuss three such examples.
The creditor protection rules that apply to retirement accounts are complex and frequently misunderstood. In an effort to correct some of the most frequently misunderstood concepts and provide some clarity in these seemingly murky waters, below we explore 5 Retirement Account Creditor Protection Myths and then give you the real facts behind them.
On Monday, we will be celebrating Labor Day, a holiday established to pay tribute to the American workforce. Much of that workforce has access to some type of employer plan and, for more than 50 million workers, that plan is a 401(k) plan. So, with that in mind and in honor of Labor Day, this week we take a look at 5 answers to questions commonly asked by 401(k) participants.
This week's Slott Report Mailbag looks at combining IRA monies into one big IRA, how 401(k)s affect calculating yearly IRA distributions and whether leaving equal IRA shares to your three children is possible. Click to read this week's Q&A with our IRA Technical Expert.
One common question both clients and advisors ask is “how will RMDs (required minimum distributions) be calculated from my IRA annuity after the annuitization?” If you have, say, only one IRA, with a $100,000 balance that is annuitized, the answer is simple. The annuitized amount that comes out of the IRA each year will satisfy your RMD obligation.
The provision for qualified charitable distributions (QCDs), which allows IRA and inherited IRA owners 70 1/2 or older to transfer portions of their accounts to qualifying charities tax-free. while satisfying all or a portion of their RMDs (required minimum distributions), expired at the end of 2013. Although widely expected to be reinstated by Congress at some point there is no guarantee that will actually happen. That’s especially true since this is an election year. Suppose, though, that you want to make a QCD now, while the provision doesn’t currently exist. What should you do?
The pro-rata rule - another complicated intersection of moving IRA money. It's an important rule to know when thinking about distributing funds from your IRA, so we decided to break it down below into 3 things you need to know.
On July 1, 2014 the Treasury Department released the long-awaited final regulations for Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contracts (QLACs). These new annuities will offer you a unique tool to help make sure you don't outlive your money. The QLAC rules, however, are a complicated mash-up of IRA rules and annuity rules, and you may need help in understanding their key provisions. To help you understand some of the most important aspects of QLACs, below are 3 critical QLAC questions and their answers.
The Beneficiary isn't the only thing you must check on your own or a client's beneficiary form. Here's a list of 3 other important things to make sure are present on the beneficiary form.
I’m still having a hard time believing it's true, but by the end of tomorrow, I'm going to become a father for the first time. I am obviously super excited and can't wait to experience all the joys – and even some of the pains – of fatherhood. I know that being a father is nothing to take lightly and there are many responsibilities. Some of the responsibilities are financially-oriented and for a few of those, there are tax efficient ways of achieving one's goals. Now obviously, everybody’s situation is different, but below are 3 tax-planning moves I plan to make as soon as possible once I become a father. Perhaps one or more of them is relevant for you and your planning.
