STILL-TIME-LEFT TO-DO LIST

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...

RMDS WHEN YOUR IRA INVESTMENTS ARE NOT LIQUID

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...

THE FIVE-YEAR RULE AND RMDS: TODAY’S SLOTT REPORT MAIBAG

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...

ONE BENEFICIARY, THREE IRAS, THREE DIFFERENT PAYOUT RULES

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...

SECURE 2.0’S BIGGEST MESS

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...

IRA CONTRIBUTION LIMIT RAISED TO $7,000 FOR 2024

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...

ROTH IRA DISTRIBUTION ORDERING RULES – KEEP IT SIMPLE

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...

COMMON CONFUSIONS WITH THE ONCE-PER-YEAR ROLLOVER RULE

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...

IRA MID-TERM EXAM

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...

HOW TO LOSE AN INHERITED IRA AND GAIN A BIG TAX BILL

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,...

“WHERE DOES IT SAY THAT?” – THE PROBLEM WITH LEGALESE

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...

WHY I TURNED DOWN MY FORMER EMPLOYER’S LUMP SUM BUYOUT OFFER

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...

SECURE 2.0 ALLOWS QCDS TO CGAS

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...

TOP 10 IRA “POPULAR CONFUSIONS”

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...