Every single month since January of 2014, Billy Joel has headlined a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden. Demand for tickets to see the Piano Man has not waned. Ticket sell out quickly. Millions of fans will attest that Billy Joel, who’s music career spans decades, still puts on an incredible show.
It’s hard to believe that Billy Joel just recently celebrated his 70th birthday on May 9, 2019. We don’t know for sure that Billy has an IRA, but if like millions of Americans he does, then 2019 is an important year for him.
Question:
I am a financial advisor and want to be clear on something. If a client has a SIMPLE IRA that they are contributing to and have an IRA and are 70.5, can they aggregate the distributions for both and remove from the IRA?
Wanda
Answer:
Aggregation of RMDs is a tricky area and we see lots of mistakes. SIMPLE IRAs can be confusing as well because sometimes these accounts follow the IRA rules, and sometimes they follow plan rules.
When it comes time to calculate your required minimum distribution (RMD) from your IRA, you may wonder which life expectancy table to use. Last updated by the IRS back in 2002, there are three possible tables for IRA owners and beneficiaries, and they can all be found in IRS Publication 590-B.
The three tables are the Uniform Lifetime Table, the Joint Life Expectancy Table, and the Single Life Expectancy Table.
Uniform Lifetime Table
If you are taking RMDs from your IRA during your lifetime, this is most likely going to be your table. This table is used by most IRA owners for figuring lifetime RMDs from their IRAs. The only IRA owners who will not use this table are those whose spouse is their sole beneficiary for the entire year and is more than 10 years younger.
SIMPLE IRAs are not so simple. One factor that makes SIMPLE IRAs tricky is that they are subject to unique rules, found nowhere else in the tax code, such as the two-year holding period.
Two-Year Holding Period
When does the two-year holding period begin? This is a question that often creates confusion. The two-year holding period begins with the date the employee’s first contribution is deposited to the SIMPLE IRA. It is not the date employment begins or even the date you become eligible to participate in the SIMPLE IRA plan.
25% Early Distribution Penalty
Distributions taken from a SIMPLE IRA before age 59 ½ are subject to an early withdrawal penalty of 25% when withdrawn during the two-year holding period.
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