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Heirs routinely lose a large percentage of inherited IRAs to unnecessary taxes. The rules are simple, but they aren't obvious and most heirs don't know about them or to ask about them. If you don't want a large portion or your hard-earned wealth and careful plans wasted, be sure your heirs...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
11-12-2009
Filed under:
Filed under: Estate Planning, IRA Benefits, Traditional IRA, estates, Estate tax, Carlson, Bob Carlson, iras, ira distributions, estate taxes, small business
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Most of the time it’s not a good idea to combine an IRA with an annuity. The IRA already has tax deferral, so why take on the costs and limitations of an annuity? But there are a couple of times when it may make sense to mix an annuities with an IRA. We take a look at two such situations. Managing...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
10-02-2009
Filed under:
Filed under: Estate Planning, IRA Benefits, Traditional IRA, Carlson, Bob Carlson, income taxes, iras, ira distributions, estate taxes, retirement plans, annuities
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One of the most important decisions about an IRA is naming the beneficiary or beneficiaries. There are many candidates for the biggest mistake made by IRA owners, and a leading contender is the failure to name a beneficiary or naming the wrong beneficiary. If no beneficiary is named, the estate is the...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
09-24-2009
Filed under:
Filed under: Estate Planning, IRA Benefits, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, estates, Estate tax, Carlson, Bob Carlson, wills, iras, ira distributions, estate taxes, grandkids, grandchildren, retirement plan
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The unfortunate fate of many IRAs shows why everyone needs an estate plan, even when the value of the estate is far below the taxable level. Few people are aware of what could happen to their IRAs when the next generation inherits them. Most people, and discussions of IRAs, focus on building the balance...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
05-29-2009
Filed under:
Filed under: Estate Planning, IRA Benefits, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, estates, Estate tax, Carlson, Bob Carlson, wills, income taxes, iras, trusts, ira distributions, estate taxes, retirement plan, retirement, retirement plans
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Many retirement plans fall short of their goals because they were built on myths and misunderstandings. Most of my work at Retirement Watch falls into two categories. The first category is determining changes that should affect retirement plans. The second category is correcting the myths that have built...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
04-17-2009
Filed under:
Filed under: IRA Benefits, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Carlson, Bob Carlson, income taxes, iras, ira distributions, retirement plan, retirement, medical expenses, retiree health care, retirement plans, investments
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Many people own substantial IRAs and have the bulk of their investment portfolios in IRAs. Some of these investors might not realize there are investments that are prohibited from IRAs and others are allowed but incur tax penalties. The issue of how to invest an IRA is more important in today's climate...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
04-03-2009
Filed under:
Filed under: Bob Carson, IRA Benefits, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Carlson, Bob Carlson, income taxes, iras, ira distributions, real estate, retirement plan, retirement, retirement plans, employer stock, stock, selling a business, small business, stocks, investments, portfolios
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The swift declines in most asset classes in late 2008 and into 2009 damaged many portfolios. For those who are retired or near retirement, one necessary step after such an event is to re-evaluate retirement spending. Specifically you have to check the rate at which you are withdrawing money from the...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
03-27-2009
Filed under:
Filed under: Bob Carson, IRA Benefits, estates, Carlson, Bob Carlson, iras, ira distributions, retirement plan, retirement, financial crisis, retirement plans, insurance, annuities, stocks, stock market, investments, portfolios, income investing
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Conventional investment advice has been turned on its head by changes in the fundamentals of the economy and markets. Now, fundamental changes in the government, demographics, and the economy are forcing changes in tax policy and tax planning advice. The age-old advice is to defer taxes whenever possible...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
03-19-2009
Filed under:
Filed under: Bob Carson, Estate Planning, IRA Benefits, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, estates, Estate tax, Carlson, Bob Carlson, income taxes, iras, ira distributions, estate taxes, retirement plan, retirement, retiree health care, retirement plans, stock, stocks, stock market, portfolios, income investing
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Many estate plans ultimately fail. The problems are not with the plans. The owners spent a fair amount of time and money preparing and executing the plans. They are sound plans that, if properly executed, would meet the goals. The problems with many estate plans tend to occur in the final stage. One...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
01-23-2009
Filed under:
Filed under: Bob Carson, Estate Planning, IRA Benefits, estates, Estate tax, gifts, Carlson, Bob Carlson, wills, iras, trusts, ira distributions, estate taxes, grandkids, grandchildren, retirement plan, retirement, retirement plans, selling a business
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Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA has been a valuable tool to consider since the Roth was created in 1997. There are two reasons why a conversion is worth far more consideration now than in the past . First, a brief review of the basics. A Roth IRA has "back-ended tax benefits." There...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
01-09-2009
Filed under:
Filed under: Bob Carson, Estate Planning, IRA Benefits, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, estates, Carlson, Bob Carlson, income taxes, iras, ira distributions, retirement plan, retirement, financial crisis, retirement plans, stocks, portfolios
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Update Dec. 19: On Dec. 11 Congress passed legislation that suspended the required minimum distribution requirement for 2009. But it did not change the requirement for 2008. the IRS was asked by members of Congress to suspend the requirement for 2008. But on Dec. 17 it sent a letter to key members of...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
12-05-2008
Filed under:
Filed under: Bob Carson, Estate Planning, IRA Benefits, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Carlson, Bob Carlson, income taxes, iras, ira distributions, retirement plan, retirement, financial crisis, retirement plans, stock, stocks, stock market, investments, portfolios, market timing
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Come January, Democrats will be in charge all over Washington. They campaigned on a theme of change, and we should expect major changes. The questions are which changes and how will they affect your retirement finances? I will focus on the changes I think are most likely to occur. When evaluating the...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
11-07-2008
Filed under:
Filed under: Bob Carson, Estate Planning, IRA Benefits, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, estates, Estate tax, taxable gifts, gifts, Carlson, Bob Carlson, wills, income taxes, iras, ira distributions, estate taxes, retirement plan, retirement, financial crisis, retirement plans, stock, stocks, stock market, investments, portfolios, market timing, market indicators
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The markets created an opportunity for investors to convert traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs. The opportunity will last only as long as the financial crisis lasts and markets are bearish. Investors who converted their IRAs into Roths earlier this year probably should reverse them and consider converting...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
10-17-2008
Filed under:
Filed under: Bob Carson, IRA Benefits, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Carlson, Bob Carlson, income taxes, iras, ira distributions, grandkids, grandchildren, retirement plan, retirement, retirement plans
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IRAs are supposed to be simple, but when it comes to inheritance IRAs are more complicated than most people realize. It is not unusual for IRA heirs to misunderstand some key rules. A wrong move or two triggers high taxes, often causing most of the IRA to end up with the IRS . Income taxes can take 35...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
09-19-2008
Filed under:
Filed under: Bob Carson, Estate Planning, IRA Benefits, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, estates, Estate tax, Carlson, Bob Carlson, wills, iras, trusts, ira distributions, estate taxes, grandkids, grandchildren, retirement plan, retirement, retirement plans, stock
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Many people own shares of employer stock through 401(k) or other retirement plans. Few of these workers, or many of their financial advisers, know the tax break that is available slash the tax burden from selling those shares. With a little planning and by following a few steps, workers can substantially...
Posted to
Retirement Watch
by
Bob Carlson
on
08-14-2008
Filed under:
Filed under: Bob Carson, Estate Planning, IRA Benefits, estates, Carlson, Bob Carlson, iras, ira distributions, retirement plan, retirement, retirement plans, employer stock, nua, stock