By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport If a retirement account transaction becomes a taxable distribution, you probably know you will owe taxes and possibly the 10% early distribution penalty (if under age 59 ½) on the distribution. But...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Question: My husband is the sole beneficiary of a Traditional IRA owned by his cousin, who recently  passed away. From my research, I believe my husband fits the exception criteria of "eligible...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Each week the Ed Slott team answers questions from financial advisors across the country. Sometimes we see a pattern in repeating questions, sometimes the questions are relatively basic, and...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on Twitter: @theslottreport Many Americans are still working long beyond what has traditionally been retirement age. This may be a choice or a necessity. If this is your situation, you may be keeping...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: Can an RMD from an inherited IRA be taken out of your own traditional IRA? Jack Answer: Hi Jack, Aggregation of required minimum distributions (RMDs) can be complicated and we get a lot of questions on...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst When moving retirement money from IRA to IRA, or from a workplace retirement plan like a 401(k) to an IRA, there are essentially three methods to relocate those dollars. Two of them are similar, and the third opens all kinds of...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: I have just read as many questions and answers as I could on The Slott Report and am still very confused.  Simply put, I am over 80 years old, and I have had a Roth and a traditional IRA for many years.  My daughter is the sole...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Back in 2020 when COVID first became our new reality, Congress enacted the CARES Act. The CARES Act allowed qualified individuals who were affected by COVID to take penalty-free distributions from their retirement...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Like most everything else these days, the price for receiving an IRS private letter ruling (PLR) has recently gone up. A person will request a PLR to receive the IRS’s blessing that a specific tax transaction won’t violate the tax code or...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: Is there a required minimum distribution (RMD) on a self-directed IRA? Answer: A “self-directed IRA” is nothing more than an IRA that invests in unconventional items that not all custodians will handle – like maybe crypto...