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Individual Retirement Accounts - IRAs

Strategies for maximizing your Individual Retirement Account (IRA’s) Investments, Tax Savings and Timing of Required Minimum Distributions

Found 429 Articles.
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Two Ways to Avoid IRA RMDs with No Out-of-Pocket Cost

August 23, 2016

We’ve been in the vanguard of showing owners of traditional IRAs how to maximize the after-tax value of the IRAs left to heirs. We do that by minimizing or avoiding required minimum distributions (RMDs) and searching for ways to turn IRAs into tax-free, guaranteed money. In the past, I’ve shown you several strategies that achieve […]

Avoiding Dangerous IRA Investments

August 23, 2016

We addressed the Checkbook IRA last month that lets you own nontraditional assets in your individual retirement account (IRA). Set it up properly, and your IRA isn’t restricted to the usual mutual funds and publicly listed stocks and bonds. There are quite a few investments you can own through the Checkbook IRA (also known as […]

IRAs

Nine Important Things to Know about Contributing to IRAs

Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) offer a great way for an investor to prepare for the future. However, IRAs also can be potentially confusing, while requiring attention from investors who often may prefer to spend minimal time and effort. The following tips are intended to help you and other investors manage an IRA account successfully. What […]

Taking Advantage of the True Self-Directed IRA

July 21, 2016

A world of investment opportunities is open to individual retirement accounts (IRAs). In addition to stocks, bonds and mutual funds, your IRA can invest in real estate, private businesses, hedge funds, mortgages, tax liens and more. But most IRAs can’t take advantage of the flexibility the law allows, because the custodians and trustees restrict the […]

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Inside Kentucky’s Pension Plan

June 21, 2016

Though a number of states and localities have pension funds with funding troubles, the worst is Kentucky’s. The plan has assets equal to only 19% of its estimated liabilities. Even worse is that the administration of the pension fund is dysfunctional and possibly corrupt. There also is a lot of political maneuvering related to the […]

Avoiding the Major Rollover Mistakes

June 16, 2016

Retirement plan rollovers are in the news. Specifically, rollovers of 401(k)s and other qualified retirement plan accounts to individual retirement accounts (IRAs) have been making headlines. Last month we addressed the new fiduciary standard the Department of Labor imposed on those who work with IRAs. The rules were generated because the government disapproves of the […]

Understanding the New Fiduciary Rules for Retirement Accounts

May 20, 2016

You might have noticed a lot of reports in the media in early April regarding the application of the “fiduciary standard” to IRAs and similar accounts. You likely will see additional reports, because some in Congress want to override these new regulations by the Department of Labor, and some private entities might sue to overturn […]

What Every Spouse Needs to Know About Inheriting an IRA

May 20, 2016

Many mistakes are made with inherited individual retirement accounts (IRAs). The rules aren’t straightforward or intuitive, so people often make the wrong decisions, resulting in thousands of dollars of taxes unnecessarily paid to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Your loved ones need to know what to do when they inherit an IRA. Knowing the rules […]

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