Did you know that there is a specific order for distributions from your Roth IRA? The Internal Revenue Service has set up a group of rules to determine the order of money, by source, as it is distributed from your account. This holds for any distribution from a Roth IRA account. Ordering rules First, return … Read more
Photo credit: jb For many folks, starting to receive Social Security as early as possible is important – even if they’re still actively working and earning a paycheck. The desire to start receiving that Social Security benefit as soon as possible is overwhelming. Something happens when you do this though: depending on how much you’re … Read more
Feb 24th, 2025 by jblankenship. Photo credit: jb Employers have been giving us lots of opportunities to make this decision of late: when leaving an employer, whether voluntarily or otherwise, we have the opportunity to rollover the qualified retirement plan (QRP) such as a 401(k) from the former employer to either an IRA or a … Read more
Many of us are covered by one or more types of defined contribution retirement plans, such as a 401(k), 403(b), 457, or any of a number of other plans. What many of these plans have in common is that they are referred to as Cash Or Deferred Arrangements (CODA), as designated by the IRS. These … Read more
Photo credit: jb We’re here in the midst of tax season, and some of you may be wondering about tax credits. Some tax credits are more valuable than others, something a lot of folks don’t realize. Most tax credits are not refundable, meaning that if the amount of the credit is more than your tax … Read more
Photo credit: jb You’ve likely heard the conventional wisdom – “when you leave your job, you should roll over your retirement account”. You may know that it makes sense (or at least you assume it makes sense), but do you know why it’s important? And do you have the first clue as to how to … Read more
May 19th, 2025 by jblankenship. Photo credit: jb In determining your retirement benefits from Social Security, as well as those of any dependents who may claim benefits based upon your record, the Primary Insurance Amount, or PIA, is an important factor. The PIA is the amount of benefit that you would receive if you began … Read more
Photo credit: jb When you have money in several accounts and you’d like to have that money consolidated in one place, the question comes up – Which type of account can be tax-free rolled over into which other type of accounts? Thankfully, the IRS has provided a simple matrix to help with this question. At … Read more
Photo credit: jb Most discussions about the timing of Social Security filing indicate that filing for Social Security benefits as late as possible is often the best way to go. However, this is not always the case, given that by filing earlier, you’re receiving the benefit (albeit at a reduced rate) for a longer period … Read more
Photo credit: jb We’ve discussed here in the past about how it is a perfectly legal maneuver to make a non-deductible contribution to a traditional IRA and then at some point later convert the same contribution to your Roth IRA (see Is it Really Allowed? for more). If you have no other IRA accounts, this … Read more