Individual Retirement Accounts - IRAs
Strategies for maximizing your Individual Retirement Account (IRA’s) Investments, Tax Savings and Timing of Required Minimum Distributions
Found 342 Articles.
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7 IRA Distribution Mistakes to Avoid
Most people know the rules about contributing money to IRAs and 401(k)s, but relatively few know important rules about taking distributions.The result is expensive mistakes, resulting in unnecessary taxes and penalties. This month, I review seven retirement account distribution mistakes that frequently are made and reduce the after-tax value of the accounts. Early distribution blunders. […]
2 New Cases Show Why Your Retirement Account Paperwork Needs to Be Done Right
Many people don’t take their IRA and 401(k) paper-work seriously enough, and that leads to terrible consequences. Here are two recent cases that will surprise and shock a lot of people. The first case involves an IRA owner who failed to notify the custodian that he moved. At least, the IRA owner’s new address didn’t […]
When You Can and Can’t Own Gold in an IRA
The price of gold recently reached new highs.Investors are looking for ways to profit from the gold rally. They’re seeing a lot of ads recommending they buy gold and silver through their individual retirement accounts (IRAs). You can own gold through your IRA, if you comply with the tax code’s limits. Not all gold investments […]
5 Reasons 2020 Could Be the Best Year to Convert an IRA
This year might be the best year for many of you to convert all or part of a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. Roth IRAs are one of the most powerful retirement and tax planning vehicles. Earnings compound free of taxes. Distributions of the principal always are tax free, and distributions of income and […]
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9 Ways to Trim Taxes and Maximize Benefits from RMDs
Required minimum distributions (RMDs) from IRAs weren’t simplified or changed in the new tax law. Taxpayers ages 70½ and older still have to take these distributions from traditional IRAs and other qualified retirement plans, 401(k)s included, whether they need the money or not. The good news is we still have strategies to simplify RMDs and […]
How to Name a Charity as an IRA Beneficiary
Leave it to the tax code to turn something easy into something complicated.One would think that naming a charity as the beneficiary of an IRA would be an easy thing. Name the charity as the IRA’s beneficiary or as one of the co-beneficiaries. It is as simple as that, right? Wrong. If you name the […]
Avoid the New Pitfalls of Naming Trusts as IRA Beneficiaries After the SECURE Act
IRA estate planning was revolutionized by the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act. Few discussions so far have focused on the major changes made for situations in which a trust is the IRA beneficiary. There are good reasons to name a trust as an IRA beneficiary. But the SECURE Act changed the […]
Congress Makes It Easier to Take Emergency Cash From Retirement Plans
Some provisions of the CARES Act allow people to take cash out of retirement plans and accounts during the crisis with fewer restrictions and penalties than usual. Keep in mind that a retirement plan might not make the new flexibility available to its participants. The employer sponsoring the plan decides whether or not to adopt […]
