The Slott Report

Most of us know about the 10% early distribution penalty, and still many of us know there are certain ways to avoid it. One of those ways is the "age 55 exception." We look at the "age 55 exception" FAQs in the question-and-answer segment below.

You are allowed to buy life insurance inside your employer retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or profit sharing plan. While many plans don't offer life insurance as an investment, some in fact do. Click to find out more.

If you put money into an IRA or Roth IRA earlier this year for 2013 or plan to do so before the April 15, 2014 contribution deadline, it’s important to double check and make sure you are actually able to do so. Any amount you contribute to an IRA/Roth IRA that isn’t allowed to be there will cost you a 6% penalty if it is not timely removed by October 15, 2014. Worse yet, that 6% penalty is not a one-time penalty. Every year the errant contribution remains in the account, the 6% penalty is assessed.

The IRS released the 2013 version of IRS Form 8880, Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions. The form is used to claim a federal income tax credit, known as the “saver’s credit,” if you make IRA contributions or certain salary deferral contributions to your company’s retirement plan, such as a 401(k) plan. Click to find out the criteria needed for receiving this credit.

In the current issue of its newsletter, Employee Plans News (Issue 2013-3, September 13, 2013), IRS has an article on one of the differences between divorce and legal separation as it impacts employer retirement plan rules.

Did you miss the October 15th extended tax filing deadline? Ed Slott and Company IRA Technical Consultant Jeffrey Levine details 3 things you should do right away if you missed this important tax date.

When you receive an IRA distribution that is payable to yourself (a rollover), you have 60 days after you receive the distribution to complete a tax-free rollover. If you don't complete the rollover within that 60-day period, the IRA distribution is not rollover eligible, which means it’s taxable to you.

In this month's Ruling to Remember, we take a look at Private Letter Ruling 201339002, submitted in late September 2012 as a waiver request to the 60-day IRA rollover requirement.

If you are on furlough thanks to the government shutdown and thinking about taking a distribution from your IRA, here are some things you need to know.