One way to avoid RMD is to rollover your existing IRA into an employer’s 401(k) plan, if you’re still employed at age 72.
IRA
Open a Roth IRA for Your Child
Here’s a very good idea to consider – if you have a teenager who has a part-time job, rather than putting those earnings solely into a savings account (or worse, a car), open a Roth IRA. The money contributed to this account will mostly be tax free, since the first $12,400 (2020 figures) of earned income is not taxed for a single filer that is a dependent of another. Since contributions to the Roth IRA are “after tax”, the first $6,000 earned (for 2020) and the future earnings on that income will never be taxed if contributed to a Roth IRA. And since as a parent you’re paying for most everything else that the child needs anyhow, why not encourage him to make a contribution of his first $6,000 of income into a Roth IRA? One downside (or maybe it’s an upside?) to this strategy is that the contributions will […]
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Trust Me, You’re Gonna Like This – The See-Through Trust as a Beneficiary
One area that often gets short shrift in discussions of IRAs and beneficiary designation is the use of a trust as the beneficiary. Part of the reason behind this may be the perceived complexity of trusts in general; at any rate, it’s not as complicated as it sounds, and it can be beneficial, depending upon your circumstances. We’re specifically discussing the “see-through” trust here, as this type of trust is most appropriate for IRA and Qualified Retirement Plan beneficiary designations. The See-Through Trust as a Beneficiary If you designate a trust as the beneficiary of your IRA or Qualified Retirement Plan (QRP), the trust should be set up with certain properties associated with it: the trust must be valid under the plan owner’s state’s law; the trust must be irrevocable upon the plan owner’s death; the trust beneficiaries must be identifiable; ALL of the trust beneficiaries must be individuals (cannot […]
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Turns Out You CAN Be A Little Bit Pregnant
Remember back in junior high (or whenever it was) during health class (or sex ed, or whatever they called it for you) – how it was explained that pregnancy is a black or white thing: “nobody gets just a little bit pregnant” was the story my health teacher gave us to remember. As it turns out, there are many other absolutes in life that are similar. However, in a totally characteristic move, the IRS gives us a way that takes something that you think would be absolute, and twists it so that you can, in fact, be a little bit pregnant (or rather, a little bit taxable, a little bit tax free, in this case). Confused yet? Sorry, that wasn’t my intent… some people refer to this as the “cream in the coffee” rule. With this analogy, it is explained that once you put cream in your coffee, you can’t […]
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
The latest in our Owner’s Manual series, A 401(k) Owner’s Manual, was published in January 2020 and is available on 
A Medicare Owner’s Manual, is updated with 2020 facts and figures. This manual is available on 
Social Security for the Suddenly Single can be found on Amazon at 
Sterling’s first book, Lose Weight Save Money, can be 
An IRA Owner’s Manual, 2nd Edition is available for purchase on Amazon. Click the link to choose the 
Jim’s book – A Social Security Owner’s Manual, is now available on Amazon. Click this link for the 
And if you’ve come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed “advisor’s advisor”.