Question: Hi, I have a friend, 45 years old, who has both an individual Roth IRA and an individual rollover IRA. The Roth is over 5 years old. He would like to know if he can use either to pay off a debt he incurred several years ago. He is aware that a straight...

Contributing to a Roth IRA is generally considered to be a good idea. But not everyone is eligible to make an annual contribution. We have seen several cases recently of individuals who contributed for many years until they discovered they were not eligible to make...

As Americans live longer, more are eventually coming to need long-term nursing home care.  The cost of this can be devastating to a family. Nursing home care now costs an average of over $85,000 per year, and much more than that in some parts of the country. Medicaid...

Question: Can you do trustee-to-trustee transfer from an Annuity Trad IRA to Mutual Fund Trad IRA? Answer: Yes. If you own a traditional IRA that has invested in an annuity, you can make a transfer from it to another traditional IRA to be invested in mutual funds. And...

Every retirement plan custodian has an interactive website that participants can visit, if their employer offers that feature. While all are a little different, the websites all contain access to vital information about your account under the plan. You can review your...

Change can be good. Is your IRA ready for a change? Maybe you are looking for a new type of investment or maybe a new IRA custodian. To change it up with your IRA, you may need to move your IRA funds. Here are 10 things everyone should know before they move their IRA....

Question: My husband passed away this April at 83. I’m 68 and sole beneficiary of his traditional IRA.  I was advised that it didn’t matter if I rolled his IRA into mine and then took his RMD for the year as long as I do so by 12/31/2018.  I rolled his IRA into mine...

When someone keeps telling you not to worry about them doing a certain thing, you know they are thinking about doing that very thing. That’s what Congress is doing with so called “Rothification.” As a review, “Rothification” – as it has become known –  is a way to...

After retiring, your taxable income may consist entirely of IRA distributions and investment returns. You'll have two ways to remit the tax owed on this income to the IRS: (1) make quarterly estimated tax payments, (2) have tax withheld from the distributions. Which...

Question: Client is over 70 1/2 and passed away in 2018 and did not take their 2018 RMD yet. There are 4 non-spouse beneficiaries who are opening new inherited IRA accounts for their share.  Does the 2018 RMD for the deceased client need to be paid prior to the...