President’s proposal comes with silver linings for shrewd advisors
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More Than 25% of Americans Are Making a Financial Mistake
If you look beyond the short term, making this move is pretty clearly worse than using a high-interest credit card to pay your bills.
Read More...Naming A Foreign 401(k) Beneficiary? ($ ?s)
You should have no problem naming your nephew as your beneficiary, but accessing the money from India after your death is more complicated.
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Three steps to find a missing 401(k) ($ ?s)
Literally tens of thousands of employees who were once participants in an employer-sponsored retirement plan (i.e., 401(k) plan, profit-sharing plan) neglect to take their retirement money with them.
Read More...Is Your 401(k) Holding Too Much Company Stock?
Following the holiday season, many will feel the effects of overindulging on festive sweets. It turns out that your 401(k) also suffers when indulging on too much of a good thing.
Read More...Last Chance for a Roth Conversion during 2012
While Roth conversions will be advantageous for some next year, they are advantageous for nearly everyone in 2012.
Read More...Contributing to Multiple Retirement Plans ($ ?s)
This article reviews the coordination rules which govern the maximum contributions to 457, 401(k) and Thrift Savings Plan. Information on 403(b) plan maximums is also included.
Read More...New 401(k) and IRA Limits for 2013
It’s time to consider adjusting your retirement savings. The Internal Revenue Service recently issued a variety of inflation adjustments for 2013, and retirement savers can now save even more.
Read More...IRS Notice of Proposed Adjustment for Underpayment/Overpayment (CP2000) for 2010 Roth Recharacterization
Currently the IRS is sending notices to anyone who did a Roth Recharacterization in 2010 asking them to pay as though they kept the entire conversion amount.
Read More...$ ?s: 72(t) and other Early Retirement Distribution Options
There is a separate set of rules for those under age 55 or who are looking to distribute from an IRA. These rules focus on an exception called Substantially Equal Periodic Payments (SEPPs).
Read More...Three Questions to Ask Before Establishing a New Company Retirement Plan
Here are three questions that every small business owner should answer before establishing a new retirement plan.
Read More...The IRA Charitable Donation in 2012
The tax code provision that allowed IRA owners to contribute up to $100,000 directly from their IRA to the qualified charity of their choice–without recognizing the donation as income–expired at the end of 2011, but what if it is reinstated?
Read More...Mailbag: I’d like to withdraw money from my IRA to purchase physical silver.
Precious metals will, on average, just keep up with inflation, but your after tax return would mean you fell behind inflation by the 28% tax you must pay.
Read More...$ ?s: Roth or Pre-Tax 401(k)?
Here is the only question you should attempt to answer: Are you paying a higher tax rate now or later?
Read More...Mailbag: How should I invest a Roth IRA that my children will inherit?
Should it be invested aggressively, like 100% equities, or use the same split as my taxable investments, such as 50-50 stocks vs bonds?
Read More...Tax Planning from the 2012 January / February issue of Planning Perspectives
“How can you respond if these new taxes are enacted? One option is to do a Roth conversion so that you can pay taxes now for those retirement funds.”
Read More...Roth IRA Recharacterization 2012: Undoing a Roth Conversion
Nearly everyone is an excellent candidate for a Roth conversion this year. You can always undo part or all of a Roth conversion with what’s called a recharacterization, so you can’t convert too much.
Read More...Roth IRA Conversion 2012: Roth Calculator for Prof. Low Income
Who would have thought that someone earning $10,700 might want to purposefully push their taxable income up to $217,450 this year in order to pay $47,595 more in taxes at these lower 2012 tax rates?
Read More...Roth IRA Conversion 2012: Roth Calculator for Mr. Esq
Who would have thought that someone in the 33% tax bracket now who will be in a lower 28% tax bracket in the future might want to do a Roth conversion at his higher rates now?
Read More...Roth IRA Conversion 2012: Roth Calculator for Ms. Small Business Owner
Who would have thought that someone earning $400,000 might want to purposefully push their taxable income up to $1.2M this year in order to pay $280,000 more in taxes at these lower 2012 tax rates?
Read More...Roth IRA Conversion 2012: Roth Calculator for Mr. Average
Who would have thought that someone earning $75,000 might want to purposefully push their taxable income up to $275,000 this year in order to pay as much as possible at these lower 2012 tax rates!
Read More...Roth IRA Conversion 2012: A Roth Conversion Calculator
Nearly everyone is an excellent candidate for executing a Roth conversion this year. But it is helpful to have a target amount in mind before you begin.
Read More...Roth 401(k) vs. Roth IRA (A guide for the perplexed)
A Roth provides more flexibility than its Roth 401(k) counterpart because you can access the principal at any time without penalty.
Read More...Roth IRA Conversion 2012: Are You a Good Candidate?
You may be a good candidate for a Roth conversion in 2012 if you can answer “yes” to any of these statements.
Read More...The Absolutely Last Chance for a Massive Roth Conversion
A tax tsunami is coming at the end of this year. This will be your last opportunity to safeguard your assets in a lifeboat and avoid getting swamped with taxes.
Read More...$ ?s: Investment advice for those who don’t need the money
Q: I am a 65-year-old retired widow and I have a large IRA. How should I invest if I don’t need this money?
Read More...$ ?s: Accessing 401(k) funds when disaster strikes
Q:What advice can you offer for how to go about accessing retirement funds after a hardship?
Read More...Mailbag: Is there a certain Roth you recommend?
I’m in my 20s and I’m just getting started in the working world.I’m also looking at a Roth IRA. Is there a certain Roth you recommend?
Read More...Mailbag: Which of these 401k investment choices do you recommend?
I’m in my 20s and I’m just getting started in the working world. Which of the attached 401k investment choices do you recommend?
Read More...Roth Regrets? Still Time to Change
David John Marotta was featured in a Wall Street Journal article about the upcoming Roth recharacterization deadline.
Read More...Retirement Plans’ Perilous Future
Between threats of cutting tax benefits and crackdowns on non-compliant plans, for the retirement industry ‘stakes are higher than they ever were’
Read More...The GAO Makes A Poor Financial Advisor
If the GAO were giving you investment advice they would suggest that you not participate in your 401(k) and convert at least half of your retirement savings into an annuity laden with fees and expenses.
Read More...How To Cut Taxes On Your IRA Withdrawals
This article from Donald Jay Korn for Investor’s Business Daily describes the benefits of advance tax planning to reduce the tax bite that is inevitable as you grow older and required minimum distributions (RMDs) become a larger portion of your retirement account.
Read More...Video: A Roth Conversion Makes Cents
There are years and situations when a Roth conversion is not appropriate, but they are often surrounded by years when it should be considered.
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Video: Be Smart When You Roll Over Your 401(k)
There are few better investment returns than an employer’s matching contribution made to your 401(k). But after you retire or leave that company’s employment, you should almost always roll your 401(k) into an IRA for better investment choices. Being smart by rolling over your 401(k) can pay dividends for decades.
Read More...Seven Termites That Eat Your 401(k)
We call the difference between the market return and typical investor returns the “termite gap.”
Read More...Video: Roth Segregation Part 1: IRA Tax Law
A complex technique called “Roth segregation accounts” could earn your investments an extra 30% over the next two years.
Read More...Roth Segregation Accounts
A complex technique called “Roth segregation accounts” could earn your investments an extra 30% over the next two years.
Read More...Video: Roth Segregations
A complex technique called “Roth segregation accounts” could earn your investments an extra 30% over the next two years.
Read More...Video: Roth Segregation Part 2: Implementation
A complex technique called “Roth segregation accounts” could earn your investments an extra 30% over the next two years.
Read More...University Students: Getting Suckered in with Credit Cards
Every University student knows they should have a credit card. You have to have a second form of ID on many financial transactions. You have to have one to establish good credit. And, the more you use them, the more you will accrue bonus points toward cash, mileage credits and various “free gifts”. P.T. Barnum said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” But it doesn’t have to be you.
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