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.
Get access to our full article archive by subscribing to Retirement Watch and Retirement Watch Spotlight Series.
Managing IRAs for the Latest Changes
IRAs and other retirement accounts were changed by Congress’s last minute laws in December 2010. The changes included the extension of the Bush tax cuts and some other provisions and generally are positive for IRA owners. ? Among the provisions that were extended is the special treatment of charitable contributions from some IRAs. The provision […]
Stretching Retirement Accounts to Last
A major fear of retirees and those nearing retirement is running out of money. You can stretch your retirement funds by planning the order in which to spend your different investment accounts. Paying attention to the drawdown order increases after-tax wealth and makes your money last longer. Most people have more than one type of […]
Taking RMDs for 2010 and Later
Required minimum distributions are back for 2010 and later years. Congress waived RMDs for 2009 only. You have to take yours by the end of 2010 if you haven’t already and continue taking them in the future. RMDs are required after age 70½. You must take your first RMD by April 1 of the year […]
IRS Cracking Down on IRAs
Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) hold trillions of dollars. These dollars are sheltered from taxes, for the most part until the owners decide to take distributions. The IRS discovered, however, that IRAs are a rich goldmine of unpaid taxes and penalties, because taxpayers are not following all the rules. Recently the IRS studied a sample of […]
SUBSCRIBE TO RETIREMENT WATCH
What you don’t know about retirement can hurt you. In fact, just a few wrong decisions in your investments, taxes, or estate planning could completely derail your retirement plans. Worse yet, the rules of the game keep changing, making it harder to keep up. For these reasons, I’ve assembled all the key points – everything you need to know — into one comprehensive report. Click here today for free access.
IRA Conversions and the Five-Year Waiting Period
I continue to receive a lot of questions about the five-year waiting period for taking distributions after Roth IRA contributions and conversions. There’s a lot of confusion about the rules. It is slightly different for conversions and for contributions. It also is different for income taxation of distributions and the 10% early distribution penalty on […]
Reviewing the IRA Conversion Decision
We’re in the last months of the year of the IRA conversion opportunity. Many tax-payers are converting their traditional IRAs and 401(k) accounts into Roth IRAs. Others still are considering the move. In our visits over the last couple of years we covered all the key issues and details. In this visit we review the […]
Strategies for Recharacterizing IRAs
Don’t rush the decision to reverse an IRA conversion. Some people who converted their traditional IRAs into Roth IRAs are moving too quickly to switch back. This has been the year of the IRA conversion. Many people are taking advantage now that people of any income level can convert their traditional IRAs into Roth IRAs. […]
Paying for the Roth IRA Conversion
The obstacle for many people who are thinking of converting their traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs is the cost of the conversion. You have to include the converted amount in gross income as though it were distributed to you. The amount, after deductions, will be taxed at your ordinary income tax rate. As we discussed […]
