Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: We have a client who has children from a previous marriage. Upon the husband’s death, he wants to make sure his current spouse has access to income from his IRA. But he also wants to make sure the remaining balance, when she...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education   October 15, 2024 has come and gone. This was the deadline for correcting 2023 excess IRA contributions without penalty. If you missed this opportunity, you may be wondering what your next steps should be....

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Victims of Hurricane Helene have at least a glimmer of good news when it comes to their tax filings and ability to withdraw from their retirement accounts for disaster-related expenses. The IRS usually postpones certain tax deadlines for...

Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The recent final required minimum distribution (RMD) regulations include a new rule change that may be beneficial for IRA owners who name trusts as beneficiaries. In the new regulations, the IRS allows separate...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst   When a traditional IRA owner wants to convert all or a portion of his account to a Roth IRA, he needs to think long and hard about the transaction. For example, some questions to consider: 1. When will this money be needed?...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst   A big change made by the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 was adding a new statute of limitations (SOL) for the IRS to assess penalties for missed required minimum distributions (RMDs) and excess IRA contributions. On its face, it looks like...

Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: When an IRA owner dies after their required beginning date, can an eligible designated beneficiary choose either the life expectancy option or the 10-year payout rule? Answer: If an IRA owner dies on or...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education   It happens. You have made a 2023 contribution to the wrong type of IRA. All is not lost. That contribution can be recharacterized. While recharacterization of Roth IRA conversions was eliminated by the Tax...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst   When presenting a particular section of our training manual, I usually make the joke that, “if we were playing an acronym drinking game, we would all be on our way to a hangover.” The segment is titled: “Missed stretch IRA...