For those just starting out, saving for retirement can be challenging. For young workers, paying the rent and buying the week’s groceries may take priority and there is only so much money to go around. However, there is an often-overlooked tax break that may make saving for retirement more attractive.
By Sarah Brenner, JDDirector of Retirement EducationFollow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Question: I am 75 years old and am planning to...
Have you contributed to a Roth IRA for 2020? If you have not, you still have some time. The deadline for making a prior year contribution is the tax-filing deadline, not including any extensions you might have. For 2020, that deadline is April 15, 2021.
Whenever there is a new administration there is a lot of uncertainty about what the change will mean for retirement accounts. In 2021, this change is happening in the middle of a pandemic that has upended the lives of most Americans and created enormous economic and psychological stress. The result has been more speculation about the future of retirement accounts than usual.
Question:
Hi!
I am over 60 and have had a self-directed Roth IRA for the past 15 years. I would like to roll some of it over to another self-directed Roth where I could invest in crypto-currency. Is this possible?
A Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) is a popular choice for many small employers. Although these plans are in fact designed to be less complex than other types of retirement plans, there are many ways to go wrong and make errors. Here are three tips to avoid tax problems with your SEP.
The rules for rolling over IRA distributions can be complicated at any time of the year. They are especially challenging at the end of the calendar year.
Surprisingly, sometimes IRA owners have doubts as to whether a distribution taken in one calendar year can even be rolled over in the next. There is no problem with this! Nothing prevents you from taking an IRA distribution in December, 2020 and rolling it over in January, 2021, as long as you follow all the usual rollover rules that always apply.
Question:
We had a client who died with no beneficiaries on his $500k 401(k). He wasn’t married and only 45 years old. His parents are disclaiming rights to the inheritance, so it’s going to his siblings. Is there any way these two siblings can stretch the retirement account into an inherited IRA? If so, what does that look like?
Thanks,
Patrick
Answer:
Hi Patrick,
The siblings may still be able to use the stretch even after the SECURE Act eliminated it for most beneficiaries.
The SECURE Act made many changes to the rules for beneficiaries who inherit retirement accounts. One of the most significant ones is the end of the stretch IRA for most beneficiaries. However, there are some beneficiaries called “eligible designated beneficiaries” (EDBs) who can still use the stretch. How well do you understand this new class of beneficiaries? Take our quick quiz. The answer may surprise you.
A new year brings a fresh start, and after 2020, we need that more than ever. You probably have a few resolutions for 2021. When making your list of goals for the new year, don’t overlook your IRA. Here are a few suggestions for your IRA for 2021.
