Educational Blogs

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...