IRA BLOG

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The holidays are here and the countdown to year’s end has started. For many retirement account owners, this means that an important deadline is fast approaching. Most of those who are age 73 or older will need to...

  By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: If a grandchild, age 30, inherits IRA assets from her grandparent, age 92, and has to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) from the inherited IRA, can she send those RMDs directly to charity...

  By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst In a scene from “The Simpsons,” daughter Lisa announces she has become a vegetarian. Homer asks some probing questions. “Are you saying you’re never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon? Ham? Pork chops?” When...

  Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst As is often the case with new legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) left unanswered a number of questions about Trump Accounts, the new savings vehicle for children. Some of those questions were discussed in a Slott...

  By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst QUESTION: My client turns age 73 in November 2026. If he takes his first required minimum distribution (RMD) in December 2026 rather than waiting until April 1, 2027, what balance is used to do the RMD calculation? Thanks...

  Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The IRS has issued guidance on Trump Accounts, which are new tax advantaged accounts for children established as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Trump Accounts are scheduled to become available...

  By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst We have written about this topic in The Slott Report before (“Inherited Roth IRA: RMDs or No?” – May 15, 2023), yet the questions continue to roll in. Yes, required minimum distributions (RMDs). DO APPLY to inherited Roth...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: Hello Ed, I have been a fan of yours for a long time (and the owner of a copy of The Retirement Savings Time Bomb) and have always appreciated your insights. We have a client who is age 58 years and is the sole beneficiary of a...

Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Since 2002, SIMPLE IRA plans have allowed employees who reach age 50 or older by the end of the year to make “catch-up contributions” beyond the usual elective deferral limit. Beginning in 2024, Congress automatically increased the regular...