5 Steps for Tax-Free Roth IRA Distributions

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The benefit of funding a Roth IRA is the availability of tax-free distributions in the future. You pay taxes now on your contribution (or conversion) in exchange for tax-free earnings down the road. The rules can...

401(k) RMD Rollover Problems…and a Last-Minute Save!

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst 401(k) custodians are usually pretty good about distributing required minimum distributions (RMDs) from the plans they oversee. This is especially important when a participant is rolling over his plan balance to an IRA. Why must...
Weekly Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary

Investors sent US markets to another set of all-time highs despite concerns about an extended government shutdown.  The U.S. government shutdown was largely dismissed by markets last week, which came as a surprise given that several key economic data sets (Initial...

Another Way to Lose IRA Bankruptcy Protection

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Normally, if you declare bankruptcy, your IRA funds (traditional and Roth) are completely off limits to bankruptcy creditors. But a recent court decision is a good reminder that this isn’t always the case. Bankruptcy protection for IRAs...