Question: Hello Mr. Slott, Thanks for your educational broadcasts. I have run into something that might hold your interest. In two separate situations I have asked that retirement checks be made payable to an IRA at another large institution mailed FBO “my name” then mailed to me. One is IRA to IRA, the other is Qualified retirement plan by a former employer to an IRA. In both cases the sender has wanted to term the distribution as a rollover. I was able to get the coding on one changed after the fact (with much ado) and have not yet done the other. The IRS is clear that these are NOT rollovers: IRS publication 590-A: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590a#en_US_2017_publink1000230589 “A transfer of funds in your traditional IRA from one trustee directly to another, either at your request or at the trustee's request, isn’t a rollover. This includes the situation where the current trustee issues a check to the new trustee but gives it to you to deposit. Because there is no distribution to you, the transfer is tax free. Because it isn’t a rollover, it isn’t affected by the 1-year waiting period required between rollovers.” Read More