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Many retirees tap their Social Security benefits at their full retirement age or even earlier, while leaving their IRAs until later in retirement. But IRA expert Ed Slott believes that the opposite sequence can make more sense in certain situations.

Thanks to the new tax laws, doing a qualified charitable distribution is more advantageous than ever. Joining me to discuss the maneuver is Ed Slott.

All in all, many more people will be taking the standard deduction, effectively making charitable contributions using post-tax dollars more expensive, notes Ed Slott, an author and retirement expert who is one of the nation's leading authorities on individual retirement accounts.

All in all, many more people will be taking the standard deduction, effectively making charitable contributions using post-tax dollars more expensive, notes Ed Slott, an author and retirement expert who is one of the nation's leading authorities on individual retirement accounts.

Financial expert Ed Slott recently reported that the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 included some favorable changes regarding the allowance of hardship distributions from 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans. These changes are effective after Dec. 31.

Slott is an author and retirement expert, and one of the nation’s leading authorities on individual retirement accounts or IRAs. Right now, he sees a couple of opportunities that IRA owners should consider in light of the new U.S. tax law. But they will not be available at tax time next spring when you talk with your accountant - the window for taking action will start to close later this year.

"Education is more important than ever, as we currently have the largest opportunity in our industry's history: a volatile stock market, a newly-implemented tax code that few understand and a surge of Baby Boomers transitioning into retirement and seeking guidance," said Ed Slott, CPA, a nationally recognized IRA expert, founder of Ed Slott and Company and creator of irahelp.com.

“The classic worst case is you get divorced, your [ex-]wife is named as beneficiary and you never change the form,” said Ed Slott, a certified public accountant in Rockville Centre, New York. “You might have changed your will to leave everything to the kids. “But after you die, your individual retirement account, if it’s never changed, will go to your ex-wife, not the kids.”

Time's running out. Here is what you need to know.

“People get afraid and then don’t file their return,” said Ed Slott, a certified public accountant and founder of Ed Slott & Co. in Rockville Centre, New York. “That’s a big mistake.”