For anyone who has ever had a 401(k), 403(b), or a deferred compensation (457) retirement plan, (which is a high percentage of you, I assume) – there’s a major difference to an IRA that you might find interesting and/or useful. The difference is in the legal requirements for beneficiary designation.
ERISA
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act [...]
Posts under ‘retirement plan’
Your IRA and Your Spouse – Or Maybe Not
The Great Recession – What We Did Right
The “Great Recession” may have not been officially declared over just yet, but things we’re seeing in the financial world are showing that we’re regaining momentum, or at least solid ground in the markets. We’ve seen the stock market gain more than 60% since the low a year ago, which is remarkable even though we’re [...]
Real Estate Investing in Your IRA
From time to time this question comes up: why can’t I use my IRA account to purchase a retirement home? After all, for many folks, the IRA represents a pretty large account, possibly even enough to purchase a retirement home outright – so why not?
No Personal Use
This is a thorny question, because there are lots [...]
Eligible Rollover Distributions (ERDs)
So what funds can be rolled over from your retirement plan into another retirement plan or IRA? Interestingly, the IRS doesn’t specifically tell you what can be rolled over – but rather, what can not be rolled over.
Let’s look at the definition from the IRS…
Definition
Only Eligible Rollover Distributions, or ERDs, can be rolled over, according [...]
What Hath Congress Roth?
… or better yet, what will they Roth in the future? You’re right, terrible attempt at a pun.
In case you aren’t a retirement and financial planning geek like myself, there has been a proposal put forth by the current administration to require all employers to automatically enroll employees in a retirement plan. I find it [...]
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble
Avoiding Double Taxation on an Inherited IRA
Did you know that if you don’t pay close attention, you could be paying tax a second time on an inherited IRA – if the original owner’s estate paid estate tax. You won’t find much (if anything) about this at the IRS’ website… not really sure why, but nonetheless, [...]
Roth Conversion – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
It is expected that in 2010 there will be more Roth IRA conversions than in any year in the past – maybe all years added together. With all this converting and cavorting going on around IRAs and Roth IRAs, there are bound to be some problems arise.
One particular type of problem that could arise would [...]
Things to Consider as You Set Up a SOSEPP
So, you’ve decided that you’d like to begin taking distributions from your IRA funds – and you’re under age 59½, so you need to structure your distributions as a Series of Substantially Equal Periodic Payments (SOSEPP). (For more background information on the SOSEPP, see this article.) It is important to do this right, because once [...]
Social Security’s PIA – What is this?
If you’ve ever looked at the information about Social Security retirement benefits, you’ve likely come across a figure called the Primary Insurance Amount, or PIA. So just what is PIA? I mean, besides the airport designation for the General Wayne A. Downing Peoria (IL) International Airport?
Primary Insurance Amount
The Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) is the projected [...]
A Cash Flow Dilemma – Should I take distributions from my IRA or from my taxable account?
I know, long title… but I wanted to fully describe the content of this article, which is to answer the following dilemma:
I have a sizable IRA and a sizable taxable account that holds appreciated stocks. I am in need of additional funds (above any RMD required from the IRA) – so which account should I [...]
