Individual Retirement Accounts - IRAs
Strategies for maximizing your Individual Retirement Account (IRA’s) Investments, Tax Savings and Timing of Required Minimum Distributions
Found 370 Articles.
Get access to our full article archive by subscribing to Retirement Watch and Retirement Watch Spotlight Series.
IRA Strategies for 2012-2013
The amount of money in IRAs is climbing. Most of us have at least one IRA, and eventually many people roll over their main retirement as-sets, 401(k) accounts, to IRAs. Unfortunately, a lot of the value in IRAs isn’t being maximized. People don’t focus on the key strategies that can make an IRA more valuable […]
How Bad Are Public Pension Liabilities
A few state and local governments have pension liabilities that are manageable and can be paid down if we enter a period of decent economic growth and normal investment returns. But a number of them have large debt burdens in their pensions. How big is that burden? JPMorgan Chase prepared a confidential report earlier this […]
Saving Taxes on Required Distributions
Taxes take their toll on IRAs. There are strong incentives to pack money into IRAs and other qualified retirement plans during the accumulation years. Yet, there’s a downside. In the distribution years the taxes can be high. Think of the taxes as the mortgage on your IRA. The government lent you money during the accumulation […]
Picking IRA Beneficiaries
Many people make serious mistakes when naming beneficiaries for IRAs and similar accounts. Talk to almost any financial planner or estate planner and you’ll hear wild stories. People often have no beneficiaries named. Or a divorced or deceased spouse is the primary beneficiary. Some of the mistakes are so bad they end up in court. […]
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.
New Paths to Guaranteed 401(k) Account Income
New laws and regulations make it easier to convert your 401(k) into guaranteed lifetime income. Longevity annuities don’t start paying income until you’re 80 or 85. Previous rules didn’t allow them in retirement plans, because you had to begin taking distributions after age 70½. The Treasury Department recently issued new rules that say the RMD […]
Roth IRAs as Estate Planning Tools
Many people focus on the retirement and income tax aspects of Roth IRAs. Not enough people consider the Estate Planning benefits they could reap by converting a traditional IRA (or a 401(k) plan) into a Roth IRA. Your loved ones could receive more after-tax wealth from the Roth IRA, whether or not your estate is […]
Taking IRA Distributions in 2012
Every IRA owner needs to consider IRA Distributions and changes in 2012, regardless of your age. The tax law and potential changes require everyone to take a hard look at their situation and consider moves to make in 2012 and beyond. Anyone who was age 70½ or older in 2011 needs to take required minimum […]
Warnings, Changes on Self-Directed IRAs
You can own gold, real estate, private companies, hedge funds, and more in your IRA. You won’t hear this from most IRA custodians. They limit your investment choices to mutual funds and publicly-traded stocks and bonds and maybe a few other assets. Their idea of a self-directed IRA is that you can choose from these […]
