Beneficiaries | Ed Slott and Company, LLC

Beneficiaries

Inherited IRAs and RMDs: Today's Slott Report Mailbag

Thursday, August 03, 2023
Question: Greetings, If I have the beneficiaries on my IRA listed as my wife (50%) and two children over 21 (50%), is my wife still able to move her half of the IRA into her existing IRA when I am gone? Or does having the adult children as partial beneficiaries inhibit her ability to do a spousal rollover to combine it with her existing IRA?
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What You Need to Know if You Name Minor as Your IRA Beneficiary

Wednesday, August 02, 2023
Are you thinking of naming a child or grandchild as your IRA beneficiary? With the start of the SECURE Act in January 2020, the rules for inherited IRAs were upended. Prior to the enactment of the SECURE Act, naming a minor as a beneficiary was a good way to take advantage of the stretch IRA. A grandparent could name a young grandchild as their IRA beneficiary and distributions could be paid from the inherited IRA for decades over the long life expectancy of the beneficiary.
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Spousal Rollovers

Wednesday, June 07, 2023
Probably the biggest advantage that a spouse beneficiary of an IRA has over other beneficiaries is the ability to do a spousal rollover. Only a spouse beneficiary can do a spousal rollover. Nonspouse beneficiaries do not have this option. With a spousal rollover, inherited retirement account funds become the spouse beneficiary’s own.
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Death of a Spouse, Death of Dad

Wednesday, June 29, 2022
Over the past couple of months I have been tasked with the unfortunate responsibility of helping my mother sort through her financial affairs after the death of her spouse. My dad passed in March, and it has been a steady stream of questions, conference calls with her financial advisor and one important decision after another. Of course, this doesn’t even scratch the surface of the emotional stress and strain on the family.
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Required Minimum Distributions and Inherited IRAs: Today's Slott Report Mailbag

Thursday, March 03, 2022
Question: Hello. I was reading the 2/28/22 edition of the Slott Report and noticed the section titled “Beneficiaries Hit w/Annual RMDs and the 10-Year Rule.” It was my understanding that starting 1/1/20, most non-spouse beneficiaries would have 10 years from the year of death to distribute the IRA, with no RMDs required.
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CHANGING BENEFICIARIES AND THE 10-YEAR PAYOUT RULE: TODAY’S SLOTT REPORT MAILBAG

Thursday, December 16, 2021
Question: I have a client, age 65, who passed away and left her IRA to her estate. Two nephews and a niece are beneficiaries of the estate. Is there a way to add beneficiaries after her passing? I spoke with a financial company, and they said you need some type of court order or ruling to allow this.
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SUCCESSOR BENEFICIARIES AND 401(k) ROLLOVERS: TODAY’S SLOTT REPORT MAILBAG

Thursday, January 28, 2021
Question: I hope you can help me with this, as I cannot find the answer anywhere or from anyone. In 2019, my client Frank, passed away. His cousin, Lisa, inherited his IRA. In 2020, Lisa passed away. Her husband, Rob, inherited the IRA. They are all the same age.
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IRA Trick-or-Treat!

Monday, October 26, 2020
Trick-or-treating in the time of a pandemic is a challenge. Social distancing while handing out candy requires some creativity. The Slott Report has elected to place a big bowl of random treats in front of our house for the kids to pick from. We bought a lot of candy, so feel free to take more than one… Twix. Do not name your estate as your IRA beneficiary.
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Roth Conversions and Stretch IRAs: Today's Slott Report Mailbag

Thursday, September 05, 2019
Question: Could you please direct me to information that tells me how any conversions I make from my regular IRA to a Roth will be taxed. My belief was that the amount of any conversion will be taxed at whatever my tax bracket is for the year in which I make the conversion. Is that correct? Therefore, all other things being equal, it is preferable to make the conversion in years where my tax bracket is lower. Thanks for your help. Joann Answer: Joann, You are 100% correct. Any conversion from a traditional to a Roth IRA will be taxed at your tax bracket for the year in which you make the conversion. (One is not allowed to make a “prior year conversion.”) As for your second comment – also yes.
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Why You May Reconsider Naming Your Trust as Your IRA Beneficiary

Monday, January 30, 2017
IRAs have been around for decades. You may have had your IRA for years. Maybe many years ago, when you established your IRA, you named a trust as the beneficiary and haven’t thought a lot about it since. You likely spent both time and money drafting the trust and were careful to name the trust on your IRA beneficiary form. Here are some reasons why it might be worth it to reconsider that decision.
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