Monthly Market Review & Outlook

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst   Question: Our client is 75 years old. He just retired on January 1, 2025. The company has recognized his retirement date as being January 1, 2025. When must he take his first required minimum distribution (RMD)? Rick Answer: Hi...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst   Many retirement plans base employer contributions on employee compensation. For many years, Congress has limited the compensation that can be taken into account for those contributions. Fortunately, this dollar limit only applies...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The IRS has introduced a new code for the reporting of qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) by IRA custodians on Form 1099-R. How QCDs Work QCDs first became available in 2006, and they were made permanent in...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: Since I retired in 2020, each year I have been converting amounts from my employer plan to my Roth IRA. I will be age 73 in 2026. Can I take my required minimum distribution (RMD) amount and convert that...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Roth IRAs follow strict distribution ordering rules. Contributions come out first, then converted dollars, and then earnings. It does not matter how many Roth IRAs a person has, or if the accounts are held at multiple custodians....

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst   The April 23, 2025, Slott Report article, “After-Tax 401(k) Contributions Shouldn’t Be an Afterthought,” discusses how 401(k) after-tax contributions can be moved into Roth accounts through in-plan Roth conversions, the “mega...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst QUESTION: My wife and I created a Roth IRA when our two children were young to pay for their college education. Our daughter is finishing her second year of school, and our son will be entering college this fall. We have withdrawn...

  By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education While most distributions from a traditional IRA are taxable, sometimes distributions can include after-tax dollars. These after-tax dollars are known as “basis.” Handling and tracking basis in your...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst When a person under the age of 59½ needs access to his IRA dollars, there is a 10% early withdrawal penalty applied to any distribution, unless an exception applies. One of the many 10% penalty exceptions is a 72(t) “series of...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: At age 71, I’m not yet subject to required minimum distributions (RMDs) from my IRA or workplace retirement accounts.  However, I am required to take annual RMDs from a pre-2020 inherited IRA and a pre-2020 inherited Roth IRA....

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education With the popularity of Roth 401(k) contributions, after-tax (non-Roth) employee contributions have gotten short shrift. But, if your plan offers them, after-tax contributions are worth considering. They can...

  By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education   The April 15 tax-filing deadline has come and gone. However, for some 2024 retirement account planning strategies, it’s not too late! There is still time beyond the April 15 deadline. Here are three...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst   Question: Are rollovers done by a spouse beneficiary subject to the once-per-year IRA rollover rule? The IRA funds were never distributed to me. They were directly transferred from my deceased husband’s IRA to my own IRA....

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst   The recent market ride has been nuts. It is certainly no fun for anyone who owns stock or stock funds. Many of us are experiencing the same sensation in our gut as when a roller coaster click, click, clicks to its apex and...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst   In the 2022 SECURE 2.0 legislation, Congress gave the IRS two years – until December 29, 2024 – to come up with rules allowing IRA owners to fix certain mistakes through self-correction. Alas, December 29, 2024 has now come and...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst   QUESTION: A 401(k) plan participant over age 73 wants to roll over his account to a new IRA. I understand that he must take a required minimum distribution (RMD) before the rollover. Is an additional RMD required in the same...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education   Recent turmoil in the markets has hit many retirement savers hard as they see their IRA and 401(k) balances rapidly shrinking. For many, the age-old advice to stay the course for the long term and not cash...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst   As a follow up to the March 26 Slott Report entry that included a full list of the 10% early withdrawal penalty exceptions (“10% Penalty Exceptions: IRAs and Plans”), here we get a little deeper into the weeds on some of the...

Question: My wife turns 73 years old in August 2025. My understanding is that she has until April 1, 2026, to take her first required minimum distribution (RMD), in which case she would wind up taking two RMDs in 2026. The RMD for 2025 is approximately $24,000. My...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst When you file for bankruptcy, one thing you usually don’t have to worry about is protecting your IRA funds from your bankruptcy creditors. That’s because, in just about every case, all of your IRA (and Roth IRA) monies are off limits....

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education   There is still time! You can still make a prior-year (2024) IRA or Roth IRA contribution up to the tax filing due date, April 15, 2025. For most people, there is no extension beyond that date, regardless of...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: In the article “Why You Should Take Your 2025 RMD Now,” the following caught my eye … “Or, maybe you are charitably inclined and looking to satisfy your RMD by doing a qualified charitable distribution (QCD). This will...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF®IRA Analyst If a person under age 59½ takes a withdrawal from his IRA or workplace plan, there is a 10% early withdrawal penalty…unless an exception applies. There are currently 20 exceptions, with a 21st on the way. Here are those exceptions,...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst   We continue to get lots of questions about the new “super catch-up” contribution for retirement plan and SIMPLE IRA participants who are ages 60-63. Here are answers to your top 12 questions: 1. When does the super catch-up...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst QUESTION: I cannot find the indexed number for IRA bankruptcy protection for 2025-2028. It is $1,512,350 currently, but it is scheduled to increase on April 1, 2025. Do you know what it will be? Mike ANSWER: The updated IRA...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The arrival of the SECURE Act means the end of the stretch IRA for many beneficiaries. Instead, a 10-year payout rule applies for most IRAs inherited by non-spouse beneficiaries. However, the SECURE Act does allow...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst   Here is an all-too-common situation that seems counterintuitive: A participant in a 401(k) retires and must take his required minimum distribution (RMD). This person requests that his entire 401(k) plan balance be directly...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: Hi, In a recent blog post, you addressed the complicated rules for a 401(k) to Roth IRA rollover. I have a similar question as it relates to a pre-tax IRA conversion to a Roth IRA. My client is a 95 year-old woman who has a...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Everyone knows that April 15, 2025, is the deadline for filing 2024 income tax returns. But April 15 is also a crucial deadline if you made too many 401(k) deferrals in 2024. If you don’t fix the error by that date, the tax consequences...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education   Do you have a Roth IRA? If you do, there will very likely come a time when you want to take a distribution from that account. The distribution rules for taxation of Roth IRA distributions can be complicated,...

  By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: Hello, If a person is turning 73 years old in March, s/he would be required to take required minimum distributions for the year. Can a person do Roth Conversion prior to turning age 73 (say in February)?  Does the...

  By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst I appreciate it when reputable financial advisors fight for their clients. It is a pleasure to see a well-educated, experienced professional leave no stone unturned when it comes to helping someone through a problematic...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst More and more 401(k) plans are making Roth employee contributions available, and employees leaving their jobs often want to roll over Roth 401(k) funds to a Roth IRA. What tax rules apply to distributions of amounts rolled over? Warning:...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst   QUESTION: I opened my first Roth IRA in 2017 and a second Roth IRA in December 2021. My current age is 71. I withdrew some funds from these accounts last year. For tax year 2024, I received a 2024 Form 1099-R for the 2017...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Why is it so important to know how the “once-per-year rollover rule” works? Well, that’s because trouble with the once-per year rule is the kind of trouble no one wants! If you violate this rule, you are looking at...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Sometimes we get stuck in traffic, or a highway is closed, and we are forced to find an alternate route. I’m not talking about driving across someone’s front yard or going the wrong way on a one-way street. Think side roads and...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst   Question: Dear Ed Slott and America’s IRA Experts, I have a rollover traditional IRA that was set up when I left my last job. I am no longer employed, so I don’t have any earned income. My husband works full time, and our filing...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst   One important provision of the 2022 SECURE 2.0 law is the requirement that most new 401(k) and 403(b) plans must institute automatic enrollment. This rule is effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2024. A “plan year”...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Tax season is upon us! This is the time of year when many people consider making a contribution to an IRA. If you are thinking about doing so, here are 10 things you need to know. You can still make an IRA...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: I just inherited an IRA from my sister. She died at age 74 and I am age 78. Am I required to use the 10-year rule, or can I stretch distributions from the inherited account over my life expectancy? I am...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst On January 21, Ichiro Suzuki was elected to Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America. It takes 75% of the writer’s support to gain entry, and Ichiro was chosen on 393 out of 394 ballots....

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst   Here’s one question that keeps coming up: If I retire in the year when I turn 73 (or older) and want to directly roll over my 401(k) funds to an IRA, do I have to first take a required minimum distribution (RMD) from my 401(k)?...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst QUESTION: Am I correct that a non-spouse Roth IRA beneficiary does NOT have a yearly required minimum distribution (RMD) over the 10-year period? Ken ANSWER: Ken, You are correct. Non-spouse beneficiaries of Roth IRAs that are...

  By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education   The deadline for most retirement account owners to take their 2025 required minimum distribution (RMD) is December 31, 2025. However, there are good reasons why you should take your RMD now instead of...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Just over 10 years ago, in June 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously, 9-0, that inherited IRAs are NOT protected in bankruptcy under federal law. The primary issue before the Court was whether an inherited IRA is a...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst   Question: I have an IRA holding an immediate annuity as well as other IRAs. With the passage of the SECURE 2.0 Act, l understand that I may be able to apply my monthly annuity payments against my RMD requirement for all of my IRAs....

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst   You probably know there’s a limit on the amount of pre-tax and Roth contributions you can make to your company savings plan each year. The 2025 elective deferral limit is $23,500 for 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans and is either...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Many of the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. There are currently a number of proposals in the works in Congress to extend these tax cuts. A serious hurdle is how...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education   Question: I have a large non-qualified 457 deferred compensation plan and I am required to take distributions. I am looking to minimize taxes. Can I roll over these funds to an IRA? Answer: Unfortunately,...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst   When the “check engine” light comes on in a vehicle, most people are rightfully concerned that something is wrong. When a fire alarm blares through a building, it is wise to take stock of your surroundings. And when a member...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Today is Inauguration Day. A new administration has arrived. We also have a new Congress. With the arrival of newly elected officials, many will have hopes of legislative change. When it comes to retirement...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst QUESTION: My wife has two after-tax traditional IRAs at two separate institutions. We are hoping to consolidate them, then convert to a Roth in the next 18 months. She is already retired. She also has an inherited IRA (from her...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst One of the more controversial rules in the 2022 SECURE 2.0 Act is the requirement that plan catch-up contributions by certain highly-paid employees be made on a Roth basis. Last Friday, (January 10, 2025) the IRS issued proposed...

We are two weeks into 2025. Have you been following through on your New Year’s resolutions? As our readers already know, for an IRA owner not to follow through on his or her annual check up of beneficiary forms could have dire consequences. Repeat after me: In 2025, I...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: I am planning for a required minimum distribution (RMD) from both my IRA and 403(b) plan for 2026, my first RMD year. I am in the third year of a 10-year period in which I am rolling over 10% of my 403(b) funds each year to my...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst When the ball dropped in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, a number of new retirement account provisions became effective. We’ve previously written about each of these new rules in The Slott Report. This article will serve as a checklist,...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education   The year 2025 is upon us! There is no doubt that this will be an eventful time for retirement accounts. As the new year kicks off, here is what we are talking about now at the Slott Report. 1. Increased...

  By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education   Question: Hello, Our daughter (age 50) is the sole beneficiary of her husband’s (age 52) IRA due to his death in April 2024. Is there a time limit for when she must either take ownership or roll it...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst   I counted them. This year the Slott Report published 101 blog articles. While other sites add “pay-for-content” firewalls, we continue to pump out incredibly valuable and important information, week after week, totally free...