By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst The 72(t) rules (”series of substantially equal periodic payments”) allow a person to tap retirement [...]
By Sarah Brenner Director of Retirement Education Question: Ed, My mother passed away in May 2019, and I inherited her IRA. She had not [...]
By Sarah Brenner Director of Retirement Education If you inherit an IRA, especially if it is a larger one, you may be afraid of being stuck with [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Those of you who participate in 401(k) plans or certain 403(b) plans should see something new on your next quarterly[...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: Good Day, I have a client (age 65) who inherited a traditional IRA from her mother in 2020. I know [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst SCENARIO: John owns multiple Roth IRAs. He believes it is necessary to maintain all these accounts to [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education You can have too much of a good thing. While saving for retirement with an IRA is a good [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: As we did 2 years ago, will we be able to skip taking a 2022 required minimum distribution [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Usually, rollovers involving 401(k) accounts and IRAs involve moving dollars from a plan to an IRA. But sometimes it[...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: I am 79 and make SEP-IRA withdrawals annually as required. I also have [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Why is it so important to know how the once-per-year rollover rule works? Well, that is [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: Hi, I am age 50 and am targeting retirement at age 55. My current employer is selling the division [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Employees leaving their jobs are often surprised to discover they aren’t entitled to the full balance of their [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Last week in Kansas City, the Ed Slott team hosted our first in-person training program for members of our[...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: I have a 401(k) that I'd like to use a portion for a QCD. I understand that QCD's have to be [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The real estate market is red hot right now. This can be especially challenging for first [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Just when we thought we understood the new IRS regulations on required minimum distributions (RMDs), here comes more[...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: I am 75 years old and contributing to my company’s 401(K) plan. I have not [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) continue to gain popularity, and with that popularity comes more[...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Recently, Fidelity investments made headlines by announcing that it would allow retirement [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: I’m 68 years old. I would like to start IRA withdrawals. What are the rules for withdrawing[...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst There are three types of company savings plans: 401(k) plans if you work for a for-profit company; 403(b) [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst For those who have 401(k)s or other employee retirement plans (but not SEP or SIMPLE plans), the required [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: Hello, I’m learning a lot from Ed Slott’s latest book, “The New Retirement Savings Time [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education For IRA-to-IRA or Roth-to-Roth 60-day rollovers, the same property received is the property [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Tax Day 2022 seems like an appropriate time to review a sometimes-overlooked way to get extra dollars into your IRA [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: Hello, Client (72) has recently inherited a “Beneficiary IRA” account. [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst The deadline for filing your 2021 tax return is this Monday, April 18. It is extended through the weekend [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The SECURE Act was signed into law in late December of 2019. This new law upended the rules [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: I have a non-spousal inherited IRA account. Once I take out my RMD for the year, am I able [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst A bill designed to increase savings in IRAs and company plans has passed the House of Representatives, but it’s [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst The new SECURE Act regulations, released in late February, created a firestorm of confusion and [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: Hi, I have a client that needs funds for a short period of time, so he plans to use the 60-day [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Most IRA distributions will be taxable. However, if you have ever made nondeductible [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst When you file for bankruptcy, one thing you usually don’t have to worry about is protecting your IRA funds from [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: I established a Roth IRA in 2011 and needed to withdraw $ 30,000 in 2021 to pay [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Here we go again. In my March 14 Slott Report entry (“Monitoring Concurrent Life Expectancies? – [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education It may be hard to believe it but the countdown to the 2021 tax filing deadline is on. The [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: Hey Ed- Long time reader and listener of yours…and have bought a few copies of your [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst With many 401(k) (and 403(b) and 457(b) plans) offering multiple participant accounts, your plan statement is [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst I am usually patient with the IRS. I understand the massive workload they have, and there are tax cheats [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: Ed, I read your 2/28/22 Slott Report on the updated SECURE Act information for non-eligible [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Roth IRAs have always been a great retirement savings tool. While pre-tax retirement [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst The part of the new IRS SECURE Act regulations causing the most reaction is the one requiring annual required [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: Hello. I was reading the 2/28/22 edition of the Slott Report and noticed the [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst The 275 pages of proposed SECURE Act regulations, released by the IRS on February 23, are chock full of [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education On February 23, 2022, the IRS released the long-awaited proposed SECURE Act regulations. The[...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: If an 80-year-old converts his IRA to a Roth account and dies the following year, when can [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst The amount of annual pre-tax deferrals and Roth contributions you can make to a 401(k) plan is limited by the tax [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst The federal ERISA law gives spouses of plan participants in ERISA-covered plans certain rights to the [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: I am 66 years old and live on Social Security and other retirement income. Additionally, I have about [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The pandemic has upended the workforce. Many workers lost jobs. Some workers resigned by [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Towards the end of each year, the IRS announces cost-of-living increases for several retirement-related dollar [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: I turn 72 this year. I am getting notices from my many IRA custodians that [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst For IRA owners and retirement plan participants who are under age 59 ½, taking a distribution from a [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education If you are under age 59 ½ and you converted your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, you will [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst The “Martin Scenario”: Martin, age 40, has never done an IRA rollover before. He took a distribution [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: My question relates to an IRA withdrawal that is then deposited as a Roth conversion. Will this [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The rollover rules can be especially challenging at the end of the calendar year. If you [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst 72(t) payments have suddenly become a better deal for IRA owners and company plan participants. Also known as [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: Hello. Thanks in advance for fielding my question. My mother died in 2021 [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst A person is allowed only one IRA-to-IRA or Roth-IRA-to-Roth-IRA 60-day rollover per year. This 12-month [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Did you take your RMD from your IRA for 2021? Hopefully, the answer is yes because for most [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: Hi, I turn 72 this year and have to take my first required minimum distribution (RMD). I [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst As we move into 2022, small business owners may be wondering whether they still have time to establish a new [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Less than two weeks into the new year seems like a good time to provide a few reminders and warnings when [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: Has the IRS clarified the 10-year rule on inherited IRAs? Do you have to take RMDs each year or can you[...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The IRS has released new life expectancy tables for calculating required minimum [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Welcome to 2022! One of the big changes in the retirement account world this year will be the calculation of [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: Ed, Since the Build Back Better bill is still in legislative limbo, does [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst SCENARIO: Teddy, age 60, has an existing Traditional IRA with a current balance of $93,000. This is all [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst In 2021, the Slott Report produced roughly 100 diverse retirement-related articles and answered [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Pop the champagne! It is almost time to turn the page on the calendar to a new year. What [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Thanksgiving 2021 is upon us. This is the time of the year when we gather together and [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: Hi Mr. Slott: I enjoy your website's very helpful information! I know that the IRS rules [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst As 2021 draws to a close, many of us will naturally look back and try to make some sense of the past year. On the [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst A “life hack” is any trick, shortcut or simple and clever technique for accomplishing a familiar task [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: I have a client, age 65, who passed away and left her IRA to her estate. Two nephews and a niece are [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Tis the season. Yes, it is the holiday season, and it is also the season to take RMDs. RMDs [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst During 2021, Congress has taken up a number of different retirement proposals, and it’s been difficult to keep [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: If the owner of an inherited IRA was required to take RMDs from the IRA prior [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst My November 29 Slott Report entry was titled “The Pro-Rata Rule Explained – You are Not Getting Taxed [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education In volatile times like these, when inflation is looming, retirement savers may look to [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: Good afternoon, Mr. Slott. I am trying to complete my taxes for last year, and the tax agent [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Many sections of the tax code are confusing, but section 457(b) is one of the major offenders. Within that section [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Are you considering opening up a new solo 401(k) and looking to maximize your 2021 contribution? If so, you may need[...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: Can someone take an in-service withdrawal from their 401(k) and directly [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst As we careen into the holiday season, there remains a deceitful underbelly of dirtbags operating their [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The IRS has released the cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for retirement accounts for [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: When calculating my required minimum distribution (RMD) amount, is my Roth IRA balance added [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst The September 29, 2021 Slott Report summarized the rules for taking non-hardship withdrawals from 401(k) plans. This[...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst As Roth IRA conversions become more popular, questions and misconceptions abound. In no particular order, [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst As discussed in the October 18 Slott Report, spousal beneficiaries of IRAs can take advantage of certain payout [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: I have four IRAs. Does the once-per-year IRA rollover rule mean I can only take[...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Charlie Brown, wearing a ghost costume full of too many eye holes cut in all the wrong spots, famously [...]
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Not everyone has a boss. In an economy upended by COVID, individuals, sometimes by choice [...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: My situation is as follows: I am 56 years old and have an IRA which I have been taking [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst One question that continues to come up is whether company retirement plan dollars are protected from creditors. This[...]
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst When a married IRA owner dies, the surviving spouse is oftentimes the beneficiary. Of course, there are [...]
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: I am retired and turned 72 in September, 2021, so I must begin required beginning distributions (RMDs) [...]
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