Individual Retirement Accounts - IRAs
Strategies for maximizing your Individual Retirement Account (IRA’s) Investments, Tax Savings and Timing of Required Minimum Distributions
Found 395 Articles.
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Ensuring Stretch IRAs for Beneficiaries
A goal of many IRA owners is to have their IRAs last the rest of their lifetimes and beyond. They’d like the IRAs to be inherited by loved ones and ultimately help fund the heirs own retirements or other needs. This goal is known as the Stretch IRA. The IRA’s life stretches for decades and […]
Reviewing Little-Known IRA Traps
IRAs seem to be simple things when we open them and begin annual contributions. Over time, as we move from the accumulation years, trickier rules kick in. This is where many people inadvertently lose portions of their nest eggs to taxes and penalties. Others simply miss opportunities they didn’t know were available. Here’s a review […]
Turning RMD Pain into Gain
A fiscal pain for many retired Americans are required minimum distributions from traditional IRAs and other qualified retirement plans. Calculating the distributions and withdrawing the money are chores. People worry about making a mistake that will trigger the 50% penalty. The problems are likely to get worse in coming years as Congress grabs for more […]
Exiting 401(k)s: Facts and Scandal
The IRA and 401(k) industries were upended recently by a report from the Government Accountability Office. Investigators concluded that the process often is a mess when individuals are leaving an employer and need to decide how to handle their 401(k) accounts. The 401(k) rollover process is inefficient, and financial services firms that administer plans use […]
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Holding Employer Stocks in 401(k)s
Employees who own company stock or other securities in their retirement plans should review their options. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 might have changed which is the best strategy for distributing the stock from the account. Many workers own shares of employer stock or other securities through 401(k) or other retirement plans. Few […]
Roth IRAs and the New Tax Law
Tax planning is less of a guessing game these days with the tax law settled, at least until Congress decides to push some kind of tax reform. In the wake of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, we need to revise and rethink some strategies about Roth IRAs, especially about converting traditional IRAs to […]
Using the Overlooked Roth Opportunity
Roth IRAs are one of the most powerful retirement planning tools available. Most people, however, aren’t taking full advantage of the opportunity. Converting traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs is only the tip of the iceberg. We’ve devoted a lot of attention to the conversion decision since 2009, and those discussions are available in the Archive […]
Using a 401(k) Plan’s Investment Window
One of the most frequent questions I receive is: How can I implement your in-vestment recommendations through my 401(k) plan? A related question is whether a reader should keep assets at the 401(k) plan when leaving an employer or roll over the assets to an IRA. The sad fact is that most 401(k) plans aren’t […]
