ROTH CONVERSIONS AND INHERITED IRAS: TODAY’S SLOTT REPORT MAILBAG

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...

TWO HOLIDAY LISTS

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...

SECURE 2.0 RELAXS RETROACTIVE SOLO 401(K) RULES

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...

BAD SANTA & THE GRINCH OFFER HORRIBLE IRA ADVICE – PART 2

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...

QCDS AND THE ROTH 5-YEAR CLOCK: TODAY’S SLOTT REPORT MAILBAG

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,...

CONGRESS MAKES SIMPLE IRA PLANS LESS SIMPLE

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...

DEADLINE TO TAKE YOUR 2023 RMD IS ALMOST HERE

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...

BAD SANTA & THE GRINCH OFFER HORRIBLE IRA ADVICE – PART 1

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...

4 IRA TAX BREAKS FOR WHICH WE GIVE THANKS IN 2023

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...

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...