The IRS recently released the 2019 cost-of-living adjustments. Many key IRA and retirement plan limits were increased for 2019.
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October 15 has come and gone—and with it, the ability for IRA owners to correct 2017 IRA excess contributions without penalty. Now they must pay the penalty and still correct the excess using one of two options.
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The House of Representatives has passed the Protecting Family and Small Business Tax Cuts Act of 2018. This is the third and final bill in the Tax Reform 2.0 package considered in the House.
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On September 27, 2018, the House of Representatives passed the Family Savings Act of 2018, legislation that would make many significant changes to retirement and other tax-favored savings arrangements. Passage by the Senate is uncertain.
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Tax Reform 2.0, if enacted by Congress, would make significant changes to tax-advantaged savings arrangements. The House may vote on this legislation by the end of September.
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President Trump issued an Executive Order directing the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury—and the agencies they lead—to review and consider ways to revise several important provisions pertaining to retirement savings plans.
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Understanding how the September 30 designation date applies to beneficiary distributions is key to handling payments to beneficiaries so as not to wrongly pay out these accounts after an IRA owner or plan participant dies.
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Recharacterizations of conversions and retirement plan-to-Roth IRA rollovers are soon to be a thing of the past. Making clients aware of this change before they convert or roll over could lessen any regret or frustration with these transactions later.
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After a longer than usual delay, the IRS released the 2018 Form 1099-R, 5498, and the associated instructions for IRA and retirement plan transactions. The IRS explains how to handle certain retirement plan loan offsets that are allowed an extended period beyond 60 days for rollover.
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Getting IRA owners to designate a beneficiary can be challenging, but not doing so could lead to problems for the financial organization later, not to mention financial liability.
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Depending on the federal aid program and the financial help needed, having money in a retirement savings account may affect how much financial assistance an individual receives.
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What can be done when an IRA owner’s spouse and children are the primary beneficiaries of the IRA but the children want all of the IRA assets to go to the spouse? With an HSA, the assets are deemed distributed to a nonspouse beneficiary upon the HSA owner’s death, but can the nonspouse beneficiary still disclaim the assets he would receive as a beneficiary?
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Research shows that the millennial generation is the best generation of savers since the Great Depression. Paying off debt is important to them. But many are falling short on saving for retirement.
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Many financial organizations struggle with IRAs that are left unclaimed or abandoned. How must these IRAs be handled to satisfy a financial organization’s duty as trustee or custodian and its desire to “clean up” inactive accounts?
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The IRS has released the 2018 tax year Form 5498, IRA Contribution Information, with a few changes related to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The 2018 Forms 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc., is not yet available.
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The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has finally made it official—the 2016 Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary investment advice final regulations and accompanying guidance are repealed. What Happens Next?
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Tax law changes and business developments, such as mergers or acquisitions, may warrant IRA document amendments. Two pieces of recent legislation—the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018—led to significant IRA rule changes.
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Two Senators have introduced the “Commission on Retirement Security Act of 2018,” which is a bill that if enacted, would create a commission to study Americans’ private retirement programs and make recommendations to Congress for improvements.
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