Slott Report Mailbag: Can I Open and Convert a Non-Deductible IRA to a Roth IRA?

This week's Slott Report Mailbag includes information on opening non-deductible IRAs for the purpose of a backdoor Roth IRA, 401(k) beneficiary issues and if RMDs (required minimum distributions) can be converted to a Roth IRA.  As always, we stress the importance of working with a competent, educated financial advisor to keep your retirement...

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Roth IRA 5-Year Rules, Same-Sex Marriage Retirement Plan Guidance, Paying for a 2010 Roth Conversion

The Roth IRA 5-year rules. The Department of Labor's recent guidance on how to treat same-sex marriage for employer retirement plans. Ways you could STILL be paying for a 2010 Roth IRA conversion. Last week, America's IRA Experts descended on San Diego, California for our 2-Day IRA Workshop, Instant IRA Success. While we were in San Diego, we took...

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Roth IRA 60-Day Rollover Rules

Many times we get the question “Do the 60-day rollover rules apply to Roth IRAs?” The answer is, yes. When a distribution from a Roth IRA is made payable to the Roth account owner, the owner has 60 days from the date he receives the funds to roll the funds over to another Roth IRA. This type of rollover can only be done once every 12 months. No other...

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Slott Report Mailbag: Can I Contribute to a Roth IRA AFTER a Backdoor Roth IRA Conversion?

This week's Slott Report Mailbag comes to you from the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, California and Ed Slott's 2-Day IRA Workshop, Instant IRA Success. We answer questions on Roth IRA contributions and more - and as always, we suggest you work with a competent, educated financial advisor who can steer you to a safe, secure retirement. 1. If...

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You Don't Have to Keep Your SEP IRA Funds in a SEParate IRA

A SEP, or Simplified Employee Pension Plan, is an IRA-based employer retirement plan that’s very similar to a profit sharing plan. All SEP contributions are made by your employer. The employer decides how much to contribute for the year, anywhere from 0% to 25% of an eligible employee’s compensation with a maximum of $51,000 for 2013. After your employer decides how much to contribute, that contribution will be deposited into your IRA. Note that SEP contributions can never be made into your Roth IRA or your SIMPLE IRA. From the IRS’ standpoint,...

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A Medicaid and Roth IRA Planning Horror Story

An attorney's client has a couple of small IRA accounts. He is not currently working. There is a possibility that he may need to qualify for Medicaid in the future. He has a large amount of cash just lying around. The attorney's idea? Just tuck the cash into a Roth IRA. After all, it is after-tax money so what's the problem? Well, there are several...

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Think You Are Done Paying For Your 2010 Roth IRA Conversion? Think Again.

There were two key tax law changes in 2010 that encouraged people to convert their existing retirement accounts to Roth IRAs. First, the restrictions that previously prevented Roth IRA conversions for those with high incomes or those filing married-separate returns were eliminated. This opened the Roth conversion door for millions of Americans who...

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When You Should Leave Your Employer Retirement Plan Money In The Plan

When you are entitled to receive withdrawals from your employer's retirement plan, such as a 401(k), a rollover to an IRA is a smart move in most cases. But there are some times when it’s best to leave the money in the employer plan and NOT do a rollover to an IRA. One of the main reasons to leave your retirement funds in your employer’s plan is if...

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Distributions From a Roth IRA Conversion

Suppose you are one of the many retirement account owners who converted funds to a Roth IRA in 2010 when there was a special 2-year “deal” on paying the taxes. Now you are wondering when you can take a distribution of those funds. The simple answer is that you can always take a distribution of your converted funds. However, depending on what you withdraw,...

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Slott Report Mailbag: Is a Conversion From an IRA to a Roth IRA Subject to the 10% Penalty?

This week's Slott Report Mailbag looks at the 10% early distribution penalty, which is in affect before age 59 1/2 in many cases. We also answer a tricky question about Roth recharacterizations. As always, we stress the importance of working with a competent, educated financial advisor to keep your retirement nest egg safe and secure. Find one...

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IRAtv: How Financial Advisors Are Educating Their Clients

In today's fragile economic landscape, financial education is crucial. It's paramount that consumers are working with educated financial advisors to steer them through a complex tax code wrought with potential pitfalls and penalties. That is the essence of Ed Slott and Company's mission, and our YouTube page, IRAtv, is another extension serving that...

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Inheriting More Than One IRA: What You Can and Can't Do

What happens when you or your client inherits more than one IRA? Can they be combined into one account? Do you have to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) from each account separately or can the distributions be aggregated? The answer will depend on who the inherited account came from as well as what type of account it is. You can only combine...

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Slott Report Mailbag: Going Back to the IRA Basics

It's fitting and all. School is in session or about to begin for many, so this week's Slott Report Mailbag provides the syllabus for IRAs 101, answering consumer questions on some of the IRA nuts-and-bolts you and your financial team must know to properly open, manage and distribute from an IRA. As always, we stress the importance of working with a competent, educated financial advisor to keep your retirement nest egg safe and secure. Find one in your area at this link. Send questions to mailbag@irahelp.com 1. Can I contribute to an...

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Slott Report Mailbag: How Do I Name a Properly Titled Inherited? IRA?

This week's Slott Report Mailbag looks at the once-per-year rollover rules, touches on how to name a properly titled inherited IRA and once again dissects the always-confusing Roth IRA 5-year rules. As always, we stress the importance of working with a competent, educated financial advisor to keep your retirement nest egg safe and secure. Find...

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You CAN'T Change Your Mind on a Roth 401(k) Conversion

While many of us know that you can convert an IRA to a Roth IRA, a process that’s not as well understood is a Roth 401(k) conversion. If you participate in a 401(k) at work, you can convert your existing plan assets to a Roth account inside the 401(k) plan. This option is known as an “in-plan conversion.” But check with your employer first because...

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IRA Contributions When You Contribute to an Employer Retirement Plan

I am maxing out my 401(k) or I am contributing to a 401(k), can I also make an IRA contribution? We get asked that question a lot. The answer is, YES. But, you may not be able to deduct your IRA contribution. First, let's talk about the contribution. Participation in any employer retirement plan, including IRA based SEP and SIMPLE plans, does NOT...

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"How is My Annuity Going to Be Taxed?"

“How is my annuity going to be taxed?” It’s a question that's asked frequently, but one that can have several different answers. That's because an annuity can be taxed differently depending on the type of annuity you are receiving distributions from, as well as the type of the account it's in. First, let's make sure that we understand annuities generally...

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Slott Report Mailbag: What Part of My Lump Sum Distribution is an Eligible Rollover Distribution?

This week's Slott Report Mailbag looks at retirement plan distributions and moving money to tax-free territory. We dissect these two issues below, and remember, if you have a question make sure to email us at mailbag@irahelp.com.  As always, we stress the importance of working with a competent, educated financial advisor to keep your retirement...

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Contributing to More Than One Retirement Plan for the Year

While many Americans aren't saving enough for retirement, there are others who are saving a lot (true story). In fact, some of you have asked whether it's possible to contribute to more than one retirement plan for the same year. The answer is generally yes, but there are certain traps you need to be aware of before jumping in to the savings game feet...

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Slott Report Mailbag: Can IRA Distributions Make Me Susceptible to 3.8% Healthcare Surtax?

This week's Slott Report Mailbag looks into two tricky areas of IRA planning. The first is how IRA distributions affect an individual's income, and in turn, their susceptibility to the 3.8% health care surtax. We then answered a question about the equally problematic Roth IRA 5-year rules. We receive many questions on a process wrought with possible...

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