Beneficiary | Ed Slott and Company, LLC

Beneficiary

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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Spouse as IRA Beneficiary

Monday, October 18, 2021
When a married IRA owner dies, the surviving spouse is oftentimes the beneficiary. Of course, there are instances where a trust might be named as IRA beneficiary, or the children or a charity or someone else is listed. Regardless, typically it is the spouse, and how that spouse treats the inherited IRA dollars is important. While at first glance this appears to be a simple decision, there are multiple variables and options to consider.
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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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Beneficiary Form Basics

Wednesday, September 23, 2020
An argument could be made that the easiest financial document to complete is the IRA beneficiary form. Yet somehow this basic information consistently gets overlooked, mishandled, lost or fouled up. It’s not rocket science. Don’t complicate things. Keep it simple if you can. Case in point: an attorney drafted a fancy addendum to a beneficiary form with all the necessary legalese and important letterhead and flourishing signatures.
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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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Which Life Expectancy Table Do I Use?

Wednesday, June 05, 2019
When it comes time to calculate your required minimum distribution (RMD) from your IRA, you may wonder which life expectancy table to use. Last updated by the IRS back in 2002, there are three possible tables for IRA owners and beneficiaries, and they can all be found in IRS Publication 590-B. The three tables are the Uniform Lifetime Table, the Joint Life Expectancy Table, and the Single Life Expectancy Table. Uniform Lifetime Table If you are taking RMDs from your IRA during your lifetime, this is most likely going to be your table. This table is used by most IRA owners for figuring lifetime RMDs from their IRAs. The only IRA owners who will not use this table are those whose spouse is their sole beneficiary for the entire year and is more than 10 years younger.
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Commingling Inherited Assets and QCDs: Today’s Q&A Mailbag

Thursday, May 10, 2018
This week's Slott Report Mailbag answers readers' questions about commingling assets and QCDs.
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How Much Can a Stretch IRA Be Worth?

Wednesday, April 18, 2018
One of the greatest benefits of an IRA is its ability to provide tax-favored wealth for heirs. An IRA left to a beneficiary can be "stretched" to provide pre-tax compound investment returns for the rest of the beneficiary's life -- or even longer. And these can be distributed totally tax free if it is a Roth IRA.
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Rollovers, Spouse as the Beneficiary, and Backdoor Roth: Today’s Q&A Mailbag

Thursday, December 07, 2017
This week's Slott Report Mailbag answers readers' questions about rollovers, spouse as the beneficiary, and the backdoor Roth.
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Do You Know All the Rules for Rolling Over a Roth 401(k)?

Thursday, September 28, 2017
This week's Slott Report Mailbag examines 401(k)s, Roth 401(k)s, and spousal beneficiary rules.
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