Getting Your Financial Ducks In A Row Rotating Header Image

401k

Converting an Inherited 401(k) to Roth

Image via Wikipedia One of the provisions that is available to the individual who inherits a 401(k) or other Qualified Retirement Plan (QRP) is the ability to convert the fund to a Roth IRA. This gives the beneficiary of the original QRP the option of having all of the tax paid up front on the account, and then all growth in the account in the future is tax free, as with all Roth IRA accounts. What’s a bit different about this kind of conversion is that, since it came from an inherited account, the beneficiary must take distribution of the account over his or her lifetime, according to the single life table.  This means that, in order for this maneuver to be beneficial, the heir should be relatively young, such that there will be time for a lengthy growth period for the account – making the tax-free nature of the […]