By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport In a famous “Seinfeld” episode, George Costanza, unemployed, living with his parents and without a girlfriend, decides to do the opposite of what he would normally do. It pays off for him big time as he...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   Question: I need guidance on a new client with the following information: Is age 55; Has a $700,000 ESOP in a company that he separated from over 10 years ago; and Wants...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport What do you get when community property mixes with your IRA? Well, you will discover that the results can be confusing. Here are some facts every IRA owner should know. Community...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   Ed Slott’s Elite IRA Advisor Group℠ gathered in Indianapolis last week for another successful conference. Over 350 member advisors from across the country spent two intense days of training,...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   Question: Can a QCD (qualified charitable distribution) be made from a 401(k) plan? Thanks! Answer: No, QCDs can only be made from IRAs and inactive SEP or SIMPLE IRAs. One possible workaround would...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   It’s been over four years since the SECURE Act upended the rules for beneficiary IRA required minimum distributions (RMDs), and there’s still plenty of confusion about the new rules. The IRS did give...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   If you are at retirement age, you might be at a high risk for excess contributions due to rollover mistakes. This is because of the rule that says that the required minimum...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   QUESTION: My client is terminating employment and rolling over the funds from his 401(k). He was told that the funds must be rolled over to a “rollover IRA” and kept separate from any other...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   SCENARIO: In one calendar year, Jessie completes the following transactions: 1. Takes a partial distribution from her 401(k) and does a 60-day rollover to an IRA. 2. Does a 60-day rollover...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   Here’s a question we get asked often: Say you retire in the year you turn age 73 (or in a later year) and you want to roll over your 401(k) funds to an IRA. Do you have to take a required minimum...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   Question: My brother died in 2020 and made me the beneficiary of an IRA he inherited from my sister who died in 2017. Can I continue to stretch the payments from this...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport The cost of healthcare continues to climb. Are you frustrated with higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs? You are not alone. You may be looking for new strategies to handle these...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   We answer some pretty complex IRA and retirement plan questions. Our newsletters and other Slott Report entries can get into the weeds on some tricky topics. The thing is, when you spend all...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   Question: Can you please clarify a question I have about whether I should take a Roth IRA withdrawal? I am much older than age 59 ½, and my first Roth IRA was opened over 20 years ago. I now own a...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport If you’re an IRA beneficiary subject to the 10-year payout period and would have had a 2024 required minimum distribution (RMD), you’re in luck. In IRS Notice 2024-35, issued yesterday (April 16), the IRS...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport You have carefully saved for retirement and now you have accumulated a substantial amount of funds in your IRA.  At some point the funds that you have been putting away for years...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   QUESTION: Dear IRA Help, My mother passed away in April of 2023 and no required minimum distribution (RMD) was taken. The entire IRA account was paid out to the charity that was the...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   Imagine walking through a grocery store, intent on purchasing a specific item. As you turn down an aisle, little colorful tags proclaiming “Special Deal” and “Buy 1, Get 1” protrude from each...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport If you exceeded the 2023 limit for 401(k) deferrals, time is of the essence to correct the error. If you don’t act quickly, the tax consequences can be serious. The maximum amount of pre-tax and Roth...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: I have a general question regarding the 10-year time frame for emptying an inherited IRA. Your guidance says that the deadline is the END of the tenth year following death....

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Markets continue to climb. That is good news for your retirement account. However, there is a downside. When you contribute to a traditional IRA or a pre-tax 401(k), you make a deal...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport ‘Tis the season for identifying and correcting excess IRA contributions. It seems as if every other recent inquiry is about this subject. To keep readers on the straight and narrow, here are ten...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: Hi, My last remaining parent, my mother, passed away in May 2017, and my younger brother and I inherited her IRA (equally split into inherited IRA accounts). We were of the understanding we could...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Previous Slott Report articles have covered the new SECURE 2.0 provision allowing 529 funds to be rolled over to Roth IRAs. We’ve reported that there are several unanswered questions concerning this new...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport You might be thinking about contributing to a Roth IRA. One big hurdle to making these contributions is the fact that there are income limits that make high income individuals...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport QUESTION: I know you can delay taking your first required minimum distribution (RMD) until April 1 of the year after you turn age 73. If you convert your entire IRA into a Roth before that date, but...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   Three times a week, every week, we add to the Slott Report. Two article entries and a mailbag. All factual, measurable information. “This is what to consider when you name a trust as your...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Retirement plan funds are designed for retirement, but Congress continues to make it easier for employees to pull out those funds while still working. The SECURE 2.0 law adds several new in-service...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: I have a client who is under age 59 ½ with a small traditional IRA. She wants to cash it in and use the funds for college education for her daughter. If I remember...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport IRAs are an important, but often overlooked, part of your overall tax planning. As the deadline for filing 2023 tax returns approaches, it is a good time to incorporate your IRA plan...

The same conversation has, understandably, been repeated many times. The questions are similar: “What do we do when a trust (or estate) is IRA beneficiary? How do we set up the account? Aren’t we now stuck with the high trust tax rates?” Of course, there is not enough...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: Hi Ed, I have Coverdell ESA accounts for my 5 grandchildren. My question is whether Coverdell ESAs can be treated the same as 529 plans under the new law when it comes to unused funds being...

Congress has determined that 401(k) and other company plan funds, with certain exceptions, should be saved for retirement. For that reason, it has imposed strict restrictions on the ability of employees to withdraw from these plans while still working. Plans must...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport The Tax Court recently ruled that the new SECURE 2.0 statute of limitations (SOL) on the 6% excess IRA contribution penalty is not retroactive. SECURE 2.0 Changes SECURE 2.0...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport QUESTION: How many times in one year can a person do a Roth conversion? Thank you. ANSWER: A person can do an unlimited number of Roth conversions in a year. Roth conversions do not count against the...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   Year after year, many of the same IRA errors happen again and again. Based on the volume of times these mistakes occur, it seems appropriate to create a short list of repeat offenders…and...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport We have covered in The Slott Report the new SECURE 2.0 provision that allows unused 529 plan funds to be rolled over to Roth IRAs. It originally appeared that this new rule was to be effective for 2024....

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: Hi Can we contribute backdoor Roth IRA money to my husband’s Roth IRA since I have existing traditional IRA accounts, but my husband has none? Thank you very much for...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport The tax season is upon us. This is the time when many individuals fund their IRAs by contributing for the prior year. Contributing to an IRA may seem pretty straightforward, and in...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Last week in La Jolla, California, the Ed Slott team hosted another incredibly successful 2-day advisor training program. Nearly 200 financial professionals from across the country chose to join us...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: I was given your information by a financial advisor who follows your articles. I have a unique situation with a client who is a high earner with several old 401(k) accounts. My idea was to have...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport By now, you probably know that a number of SECURE 2.0 provisions pertaining to 401(k) (and other company savings plans) became effective this year. We’ve already discussed two of them in The Slott Report....

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Are you thinking about making a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA plan contribution for 2023? If so, here are 6 rules you need to know. 1. Only a business can make a SEP...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport QUESTION: If an individual has both an IRA and a 401(k) and wants to convert the IRA to a Roth IRA, does he have to take both the IRA and the 401(k) RMD (required minimum distribution) before doing a...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Ever since the SECURE Act created a 10-year payout rule for most IRA beneficiaries, that topic has garnered the bulk of conversation. This is understandable. Not only was the 10-year rule a brand-new...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport We’re getting lots of questions about the SECURE 2.0 change that allows annuitized IRA annuities to be aggregated with non-annuity IRA funds for required minimum distribution (RMD) purposes. This change...

Question: I have two questions regarding the 15-year requirement that applies to new rules allowing rollovers from 529 plans to Roth IRAs. If you change beneficiaries, will it reset the 15-year clock? Secondly, if you roll your 529 plan into another 529 plan (say...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Did you make a Roth IRA contribution for 2023? If you have not, you still have some time. The deadline for making a prior year contribution is the tax-filing deadline, not including...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   The mailman delivered my son’s 2023 W-2 the other day. I was curious what he earned last year as a lifeguard at our community pool, so I opened the envelope. Box 1, “Wages, tips, other...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   Question: Is it possible to do a Backdoor Roth IRA conversion with a SEP IRA? If yes, how does it work? Thank you! Yulia Answer: Hi Yulia, Yes, you can do a Backdoor Roth IRA conversion with a SEP...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport QUESTION: I have been funding a 529 account for over 15 years and no longer need to add deposits. Could I change the beneficiary to myself and then convert to a Roth IRA, assuming I have met the...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: Hoping you can help with this technical question. I am over 73. My traditional IRA balance as of 12/31/22 was $0.00. I made a $7,500 non-deductible traditional IRA contribution in 2023 and...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport When the bell dropped in Times Square last Sunday night, a bunch of new provisions from the SECURE 2.0 legislation kicked in. This article will focus on the Roth-related changes that are effective in 2024....

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: I have a traditional IRA with a portion being nondeductible contributions. The last nondeductible contribution I made was in 2009. and I have my Form 8606 showing the...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport The SECURE 2.0 Act contained over 90 sections and included numerous IRA and retirement account changes. Additionally, the legislation incorporated staggered effective dates over multiple years. Here...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Thinking of opening up a new solo 401(k) plan for 2023? Thanks to SECURE 2.0, you don’t have to rush to get it done by year end. A solo 401(k) is an excellent retirement savings vehicle for self-employed...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: My sister inherited an IRA from our mother (age 95 and died in 2019.) My sister took her RMDs (required minimum distributions) from this inherited account over her life expectancy. My sister died...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport The investment advisory firm of Bad Santa & the Grinch continues to disseminate misinformation and lousy, no good, rotten-to-the-core IRA advice. As we saw in “Bad Santa & The Grinch Offer...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport QUESTION: My brother passed away in May 2023. He had a small IRA with no beneficiary. He was 73 at the time of his death. His estate is to be divided equally among his eight brothers and sisters,...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport SIMPLE IRA plans are a popular retirement savings option for small businesses. The plans are available for companies with 100 or fewer employees who received at least $5,000 in pay from the company in the...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport It is December. The halls are decked, and Starbucks holiday cups are everywhere. The end of the year is not far away. That means the deadline is near for taking a required minimum...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport If the Grinch and Bad Santa both passed their FINRA Series 7 exam and decided to open an investment advisory firm, I’m pretty sure they would combine forces to intentionally deliver some of the WORST...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport A few weeks ago, many of us were required to turn back our clocks one hour and say goodbye to daylight savings time. And with that change came the usual reminder to change the batteries in our smoke...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Thanksgiving is almost here! This is a time for us to gather together and express our gratitude for all the good things in our lives. When it comes to our retirement accounts, we...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Year-end to-do lists are commonplace. The problem is, they always seem to get published in mid-to-late December. I can almost hear the collective “thanks for nothing” comment from readers as the...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Remember coronavirus-related distributions, or “CRDs”? Passed as part of the CARES Act in March 2020, CRDs were special distributions designed to help people who contracted COVID or had financial hardship...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport You may have noticed grocery stores stocking up for Thanksgiving, and festive lights and displays going up everywhere. Yes, it is the holiday season, but it is also the season to...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: In 2020 and 2021, when I was over 65 years old, I converted some of my IRA into a Roth IRA.  Does the five-year rule still apply to me, or can I now draw out all of the...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport An advisor called and said his 75-year-old client had just passed away. He had questions about the payout rules applicable to the three IRAs the client left behind: a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA, and...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   Of the 92 provisions in the SECURE 2.0 legislation, signed into law last December, by far the most challenging is section 327.  Section 327 changes the distribution rules for spouse beneficiaries of...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   Question: Dear Mr. Slott, I made $40,000 additional non-deductible (after taxes) contributions to my IRA many years ago. I have filed IRS Form 8606 every year informing the IRS of the contributions....

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   The IRS has released cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for 2024. Many IRA limits will increase next year. Higher IRA Contributions The limit on annual contributions to an IRA...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Within the 400-page Ed Slott advisor training manual, we include a basic chart that outlines the Roth IRA distribution ordering rules and the availability of those specific dollars. When presenting...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport The once-per-year IRA rollover rule sounds pretty easy to understand. You may only do one IRA-to-IRA (or Roth IRA-to-Roth IRA rollover) per year (365 days). However, this rule is...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: I earn too much money and can’t do a Roth IRA. I have heard about the back-door Roth IRA strategy for those who earn more than the allowable contribution for the Roth IRA...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport An estate can become the beneficiary of a person’s IRA in a couple of ways. First, the estate could be named outright as the beneficiary on the beneficiary form. This is not recommended. Why? One...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport The Investment Company Institute (ICI) is an association representing mutual fund companies and similar investment companies. Each year, ICI conducts a survey of the prevalence of IRAs in American...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: I have a client who just retired at age 80.  He has $800,000 in his 401(k) plan which is being rolled over to an IRA.  Does he have to take an RMD this year based on the...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   Did you inherit an IRA from someone who is NOT your spouse? This is not uncommon. Maybe you inherited from a sibling or a parent or a friend. If this is your situation,...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport My biggest gripe with legislation is the same complaint held by most – the bulk of it is written in legalese – i.e., difficult-to-understand language. I am no idiot, but sometimes I sure feel dumb...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport QUESTION: On September 6th in a piece titled, “Rules for Inherited IRAs that May Surprise Nonspouse Beneficiaries,” Sarah Brenner from Ed Slott and Company wrote, “If you inherited the IRA funds in...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Earlier in my career, I worked for a company that sponsored a defined benefit (DB) pension plan. Up to now, I’ve chosen to defer payments from the plan. A few weeks ago, I received an official-looking...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport SECURE 2.0 expands qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) by allowing a one-time only QCD of up to $50,000 to a split-interest entity. As a result of this new rule, there is now a...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport The Ed Slott team answers thousands of IRA and work plan questions annually - emails, phone calls, in-person conversations, webinars, Q&A programs and texts. We accommodate all members of the Ed...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: I have a new inherited IRA, and I believe that I am subject to BOTH the 10-year rule and to annual RMDs. Is this true?   My situation:      Original owner was age 92 and passed in...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport If you are thinking of buying an NFT (non-fungible token) with your IRA funds, you may want to reconsider. In Notice 2023-27, the IRS said that NFTs associated with “collectibles” are prohibited IRA...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: I understand that my kids will need to empty my Roth IRA in 10 years, but do they need to take RMDs in years 1 through 9? I am beyond my RMD age. Larry Answer: Larry, Assuming none of your...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport If ever I was traveling from Los Angeles to Atlanta, I would choose a direct flight with no layovers. I want the most efficient route to my destination. Point A to Point B. Take off, land. Assuming...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport The August 28, 2023 Slott Report summarized IRS Notice 2023-62, where the IRS delayed the effective date of the SECURE 2.0 rule requiring catch-up contributions by higher-paid older employees to be made on...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: My name is Bruce. I am 65 years old, and I have a question about the SECURE Act. My mother died at age 89 on April 19, 2023, and I inherited her IRA. She had been receiving...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Many IRA assets will ultimately go to nonspouse beneficiaries. When these beneficiaries inherit the funds, special rules kick in. Inherited IRAs are not like your own personal IRA...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   The lunacy of IRA beneficiary payout rules continues to boggle the mind. As I guide advisors through the options available to their clients, various nuances present one unique scenario after...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Last Friday afternoon (August 25, 2023), the IRS gave employer plans two more years to comply with the controversial SECURE 2.0 rule requiring “catch-up contributions” for high-paid employees to be made on...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport QUESTION: Hello!  I recently came across one of your articles and decided to reach out to you in hopes of getting some clarification re: the Secure Act 2.0 and distributions as a qualified public...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport When an IRA or retirement plan owner reaches a particular age, that account owner typically must begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs.) The RMD is calculated based on the year-end...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: I am struggling to find an answer to my situation. My wife’s 82-year old father passed away about 8 years ago and he was taking IRA distributions. A portion of his IRA was...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport If you are subject to required minimum distributions (RMDs) and have annuitized part of your IRA, a recent law change could drastically reduce your RMDs. But, without IRS guidance, it may be difficult to...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport The IRS unleashed massive confusion last year. To the surprise of many, it released proposed SECURE Act regulations requiring beneficiaries (on some occasions) to take required...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Question: I’m age 76. My brother died in December 2022 at 84. Do I take required minimum distributions (RMDs) for the inherited account based on my age or on my brother’s age at death? Answer: Since you’re...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport As already-complicated IRA rules spiral further into an abyss of confusion, it comes as no surprise that irregularities exist. Up is down and left is right. Green means stop, red means throw your...