By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The House Ways and Means Committee has released a draft of proposed changes to retirement accounts, including adding income limits for conversions and eliminating the back-door Roth conversion strategy. These...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: If your employer contributes to either a SEP IRA or a SIMPLE IRA, can you (the employee) also contribute to a Roth IRA? Regards, Alfred Answer: Hi Alfred, Yes, you can make Roth IRA contributions even if you participate in a SEP...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Are you moving assets between IRAs or from a company plan to an IRA (or vice-versa)? You should know that using a direct transfer is a much better idea than doing a 60-day rollover. Direct transfers avoid all of the possible issues which...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst When an IRA owner taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) dies before removing his annual RMD, that year-of-death RMD (or whatever portion remains) must still be withdrawn. Upon passing, the year-of-death RMD immediately...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education President Biden has declared September to be National Preparedness Month. The goal is to encourage Americans to be more prepared for natural disasters. Unfortunately, from flooding on the east coast to fires on the...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: Ed I heard on a podcast that you are the number one authority on IRAs, so I want to go to the most informative source.  Could you answer this question for me? I have a Roth IRA and suddenly I was unable...

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst What if you have an IRA with your spouse as primary beneficiary, get divorced without changing your beneficiary and then die? Who inherits your IRA benefits. If you live in one of the 26 states (as of June 2018) that have...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Question: I appreciate all of the information you pass along, both through PBS and now through the American College. In one of your recent presentations, you discussed QCDs and their often-overlooked value. I recommend QCDs to...

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Yes, you are allowed to own real estate in an IRA. Of course, not every IRA custodian will accommodate such an investment, but that doesn’t mean it is forbidden. If you want to own a beach house in your IRA, or a commercial...