Creditor Protection for Your Retirement Accounts
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst How well are your retirement plan account funds protected from creditors? The answer depends on which kind of creditors you are worried about. There are two types of creditors that might be coming after your retirement savings. The first is bankruptcy creditors, who are owed money by you after you […]
How Your Spouse Can Impact Your Traditional IRA Deduction
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education If you have compensation (or “earned income”), you can always contribute to a traditional IRA, but your traditional IRA contribution may not always be deductible. (Roth IRA contributions are never deductible.) One factor for determining IRA deductibility is whether a worker is an “active participant” in a […]
Is there a penalty because the RMD was not taken prior to Mom’s passing?: Today’s Slott Report Mailbag
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst QUESTION: You recently posted an article about the “still-working exception.” Does this apply to solo 401(k) plans? Thanks, Birdie ANSWER: Birdie, The still-working exception allows participants in certain workplace retirement plans — like a 401(k) — to delay required minimum distributions (RMDs) until after they separate from service. However, one of […]
530A Trump Accounts: The Compounding Mathematical Facts
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst These days, anything with a hint of politics can be divisive. Trump accounts are no different. Public comments about this new savings vehicle are clearly rooted in the political divide that permeates our country. We are all sick up to our eyeballs with political bickering and the “whose-side-are-you-on” […]
Does the Five-Year Holding Period Pertain to Me?: Today’s Slott Report Mailbag
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst With contributions to Trump accounts having gone live on July 4, 2026, there has been lots of discussion recently about the “kiddie tax.” That’s because, once a child reaches January 1 of the year they turn age 18, they will be able to withdraw or do a Roth conversion […]
Does the Five-Year Holding Period Pertain to Me?: Today’s Slott Report Mailbag
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst QUESTION: My wife (Keiko) currently does not take a required minimum distribution (RMD) on her retirement account because the plan allows this while she is still working. Here are our questions: If she retires this December (2026), would she have to take an RMD when we file 2026 taxes […]
What You Need to Know About the Still-Working Exception
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Tax rules require most retirement account owners who are subject to required minimum distributions (RMDs) to begin withdrawals at age 73. However, there is an exception to this rule for certain individuals who continue to work, called the “still-working exception.” Here is what you need to know […]
QCD Code Y: Optional Again in 2026
By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst During our recent Ed Slott and Company’s Instant IRA Success workshop in Brooklyn, NY, we were presenting information about qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) when an audible groan emanated from the crowd. Over the grumbling, an exasperated woman’s voice was heard making a loud complaint. The attendees were not criticizing the […]
How Plan Loans Work
By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Question: Hello, I’m married, filing jointly, and I have been converting my traditional IRA to Roth this year. If I convert too much and trigger higher Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) charges, can I do a recharacterization to remove the overage? Thank you, Terri Answer: Hi Terri, IRMAA is a surcharge […]
How Plan Loans Work
By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst The June 15, 2026 Slott Report outlined the barriers preventing 401(k) and other plan participants from accessing their plan funds while working. The June 24, 2026 article discussed in-plan withdrawals as one way around those barriers. Another way to tap into plan funds while working is to take a plan loan. Company retirement […]