required minimum distribution

5 Things You Can Do With a 401(k) That You Can’t With an IRA

401(k)s and IRAs share a lot of similarities. They are both retirement plans. They both can help you lower your tax bill today, provide tax-deferred growth and can help provide an income source in retirement. That said, there are also many differences between the two types of retirement accounts. Some are relatively insignificant and probably won’t impact your planning or decision-making process, but other differences can make one type of account far superior to the other in your particular situation. With that in mind, we explore 5 things you can do with a 401(k) that you can’t do with an IRA.

These Roth Accounts Have RMDs

Roth IRAs offer many benefits. Without a doubt, the ability to accumulate funds for retirement on a tax-free basis is clearly their biggest perk, but another huge advantage, relative to other retirement accounts, is that they do not have any required minimum distributions (RMDs) during your lifetime. However, that's not true for all Roth accounts. Make sure that you know about the RMDs the following Roth accounts do have.

What Are The Spousal Roth IRA Beneficiary Rules?

It's time for another edition of The Slott Report Mailbag, where we answer consumer questions on required minimum distribution (RMD) procedures with IRA annuities, The Roth conversion conversation and the Roth IRA beneficiary rules for spouses.

5 Things You Can Do With An IRA That You Can’t With a 401(k)

IRAs and 401(k)s share a lot of similarities. They are both retirement plans. They both can help you lower your tax bill today, provide tax-deferred growth and help provide an income source in retirement. That said, there are also many differences between IRAs and 401(k)s. Some are relatively benign and probably won’t impact you very much, but other differences can make one type of account far superior to the other in your particular situation. With that in mind, today, we explore 5 things you can do with an IRA that you can’t with a 401(k).

Do I Have to File IRS Form 5329 For Each Year an RMD Was Missed?

This week's Slott Report Mailbag looks at the issues involved when an IRA beneficiary must take missed required minimum distributions (RMDs) for the original account owner, answers a question about the backdoor Roth IRA conversion and outlines the process of making SEP IRA contributions and converting those to a Roth IRA.

How are IRA Annuity RMDs Calculated After Life Annuitization?

The IRA rules are very complicated. The RMD (required minimum distribution) rules are very complicated. Annuity rules are very complicated. Put them all together and what do you get? Usually, just a mess of chaos and confusion. Today, we look at what happens to RMDs when you annuitize your IRA annuity over your lifetime or over a joint lifetime (your lifetime, plus the lifetime of another person). The answer provided below is excerpted from our soon-to-be-released must-have resource, The Definitive Guide to Required Minimum Distributions for Baby Boomers.

What You Need to Know About Your Required Beginning Date

What is the RBD? RBD stands for required beginning date. It is the date by which an IRA owner must take their first required minimum distribution (RMD) in order to avoid a 50% penalty. Generally, an individual must take their first distribution from a retirement account in the year they turn age 70 ½. The following points clarify exactly when you must take your first distribution.

How Do I Handle My RMD With Multiple Retirement Accounts BEFORE Converting to a Roth IRA?

Our post-Instant-IRA-Success Slott Report Mailbag examines two issues we covered extensively in Las Vegas. We answer a consumer's question on how to take a required minimum distribution (RMD) prior to taking a Roth conversion. Also, we provide guidance on whether a spouse with no taxable compensation can make an IRA contribution.

Final Obama Budget Proposal Heavy on Retirement Account Changes (Again!)

On Tuesday, February 9, 2016, President Obama released his Fiscal Year 2017 Budget – his final budget proposal as President of the United States. Having seen none of his 14 retirement account-related proposals from last year’s budget enacted, the President has included them all again in this year’s budget. In addition, this year’s budget features one additional significant retirement account-related change. In this article, you will find a complete list of the 15 provisions in the President’s budget that directly relate to retirement accounts. For each, you’ll see whether they are new or carryovers from previous years, a description of each, as well as some commentary to provide insight and perspective.

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