If you are a young worker, you, like many other members of the millennial generation, may be juggling student loans and expensive rent. Retirement? That is likely the last thing on your mind, although you may have a sneaking suspicion that the generous pensions that older generations enjoy probably will not be there for you. What can you do now to save for a more secure retirement? Well, for many millennials the Roth IRA is the way to go. Here are 5 reasons why.
Are you a 20- or 30-something year old or do you know any of those individuals? You’ve now paid your taxes for 2015, take a deep breath, and start planning for your retirement. You will most likely have no pension other than Social Security, if it is still around. Social Security will not cover all of your living expenses just as Medicare will not cover all of your medical expenses. You need to start saving and planning for your retirement NOW. Here's how.
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.
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.
It's time for another edition of The Slott Report Mailbag, where we answer consumer questions on situations involving Roth conversions and the pro-rata rule, whether you need earned income to contribute to a Roth IRA and certain Roth IRA tax scenarios (reminder: Tax Day is Monday!)
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.
Can you contribute to both an IRA and a Roth IRA in the same year? Yes, if you follow the rules. This Monday afternoon blog post discusses those rules and the complications that occur if you don't follow them.
Have you made your 2015 IRA contribution? If not, why not? Here are five myths that are commonly cited as reasons for not contributing to an IRA. Don’t miss out on your 2015 IRA contribution because you wrongly believe one of them applies to you.
It's time for another edition of The Slott Report Mailbag, where we answer a parent's question on whether her son's Roth IRA contributions were done within the rules, assess whether an IRA account can be converted to a Roth IRA before age 59 ½ and examine an employee's pro-rata complexities with moving after-tax 401(k) funds to both a traditional and Roth IRA.
Can you deduct a loss in your IRA or Roth IRA? The answer is yes, if you meet the criteria. It is much easier to deduct a loss in a Roth IRA than in a traditional IRA because Roth IRAs generally hold more basis than a traditional IRA. Basis in a traditional IRA comes only from nondeductible contributions and/or rollovers of after-tax funds previously held in an employer plan. Basis in a Roth IRA comes from Roth IRA contributions, Roth IRA conversions and most rollovers from designated Roth accounts (i.e. Roth 401(k) funds). Here are the six steps.
