Qualified Distributions From a Roth IRA Are 100% Tax Free

October 20, 2009

The major advantage of the Roth IRA is qualified distributions are TAX FREE. Investment earnings are not just tax deferred, as with a traditional IRA, but are tax free. One more time… TAX FREE! That’s what makes financial planning and retirement planning so dang important for those of you in your 30’s and 40’s. I [...]

Read the full article →

Roth 401K vs Regular 401K

October 6, 2009

Roth 401k’s are becoming more common place in employers retirement plans.  If you have a Roth 401k as an option at your job, which one do you choose?  Trying to decide whether the Roth 401k vs. the Regular 401k is best for you first requires to understand the basics. Basics of the 401k A 401K [...]

Read the full article →

How does a Roth IRA differ from a Traditional IRA?

September 24, 2009

photo credit: cooljinny Trying to compare a Roth IRA vs. Traditional IRA is like comparing apples to oranges. Chances are you’ve heard the words “Roth IRA” at some point since you’ve started to think about planning for retirement.  Much like its counterpart, the Traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA), which many investors are more familiar with, [...]

Read the full article →

Roth IRA Conversion in 2010

September 19, 2009

photo credit: AJoelle_xo Virtually anyone can take advantage of this tax law loophole. 2010 will be an extraordinary year for tax law, a tax year so potentially advantageous that we may never see its like again. One probable 2010 phenomenon: a wave of high-income and high net worth individuals converting traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs. [...]

Read the full article →

2009 Roth IRA Contribution Limits

September 18, 2009

photo credit: TMAB2003 Being able to maximize your Roth IRA can have an everlasting impact to your retirement nest egg.   Not much has changed for Roth IRA contribution limits for 2009. Year Contribution Limit Catch-up 2008 $5,000 $1,000 2009 $5,000 $1,000 Roth IRA Phaseout Limits What has changed has been an increase in the Roth [...]

Read the full article →

Roth IRA Recharacterization

September 17, 2009

Roth IRA recharacterization is a rule that essentially allows you to undo a conversion from a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.  It can be considered one of the few times that the IRS allows you a “take back”. You have until the maximum extension of the tax filing deadline (October 15) to reverse the [...]

Read the full article →

Roth IRA Conversion in a Down Market

September 16, 2009

Is it time for a break – that is, a tax break? With the stock market down 25-40% from its fall 2007 highs as measured by the S&P 500, it’s certainly a time to consider converting your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, especially if you’re not planning on retiring soon. photo credit: roland Is [...]

Read the full article →

Four Roth IRA Conversion Strategies

September 5, 2009

photo credit: jontintinjordan While you may decide on a Roth IRA conversion  as the optimum way to grow your assets and generate the  income you’ll need in retirement, it can also be a powerful  planning tool that helps you reach other goals. Here are four outlined conversion strategies that might give you a reason to [...]

Read the full article →

Next Entries →