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Retirement FAQs

  1. Are my IRAs secure against possible liens?

  2. How can I budget for both short-term expenses and long-term goals?

  3. I want to close my IRA account. What percentage will I lose to tax?

  4. Can I roll my 401(k) and/or IRA funds into a more liquid investment fund without penalty?

  5. I am considering taking a loan from my qualified retirement plan. What is the definition of a "reasonable interest rate"?

  6. Is my 403(b) account owned by me or by the institution?

  7. When should I take my Canadian Pension Plan distributions?

  8. My husband has become eligible for a 401(k) plan (with no matching contribution) at work. How do we get back the $9,000 that we already contributed to our IRA for 2005 without a penalty? My husband earns $144,000/year and we're both over 50 years old.

  9. Can I fund a Traditional IRA, a 403(b) or a Roth IRA using pension money? I'm 56 years old. What limits apply if I can?

  10. I earn more than the income limit for both a Roth and Traditional IRA deduction. Should I contribute anyway?

  11. I just learned that my 2004 and 2005 Roth IRA contributions are not allowed because my income exceeds the limits. Can I just withdraw the contributions plus earnings without penalty?

  12. If a company undergoes an acquisition can an employee withdraw 401(k) funds tax free?

  13. Can I still set up an SEP if one of my employees refuses to participate?

  14. Why should I bother creating a budget?

  15. What's the best kind of IRA for a 20-something?

  16. As a temporary resident of the US, can I withdraw funds from my Traditional IRA without penalty when I leave the country?

  17. My old company offers a 401(k) plan and my new employer only offers a 403(b) plan. Can I roll over the money in the 401(k) plan to this new 403(b) plan?

  18. Are the distribution rules for 401(k) and 403(b) plans the same as those for IRA plans?

  19. I am a first-time home buyer. If I take a distribution from my 401(k) to purchase land and a house, will I have to pay a penalty on this distribution? Also, what kind of form will I need to file with my taxes, showing the IRS that $10,000 went toward a ho

  20. I converted a Traditional IRA to a Roth. The conversion was a stock equity with a cost basis of $19,000 in the Traditional IRA. The day of conversion, the value was $34,000. Which amount should the brokerage house use for the 1099-R?

  21. I am retiree, drawing from my 403(b) annuity. I am the sole employee of my own business. Do I qualify for a SIMPLE IRA account? I want to defer some of my income from taxes.

  22. I am only 17 years old. I don't have a job or pay taxes. Can I contribute to an IRA?

  23. I am 61 years old and would like to contribute to my employer's 401(k) plan. Is there an age limit?

  24. Can I contribute to my company-sponsored 401(k) after the company's year-end but before its tax-filing date?

  25. Is my non-qualified Roth IRA distribution subject to taxes or early distribution penalties?

  26. How does online banking assist with budgeting?

  27. I have several CDs in my IRA with different maturities. Can I roll them over to another institution with a better rate as they mature?

  28. Can I establish more than one IRA?

  29. I recently and accidentally established a Roth IRA for my spouse instead of myself and contributed additional monies. What should I do?

  30. If I am entitled according to my divorce decree to a percentage of my ex-husband's IRA, how can I receive the assets due to me into my own IRA without being taxed? Will he be taxed when he makes the transfer? Will the money he may have to pay in taxes the

  31. I've heard that workers who don't roll over their 401(k)s after retiring face some problems related to estate planning. I was told it was some type of final 2002 government regulation. Is this true?

  32. My uncle died recently. He designated my mother and father as his beneficiaries in 1997, after his divorce, and did not make any changes after he remarried in 2000. My uncle's current spouse is now fighting for money from the plan. Does she have a leg t

  33. How can I make sure that past IRS errors have been corrected?

  34. Can I add my higher income spouse's name to my Roth IRA in order to raise our contribution limits?

  35. Can an IRA beneficiary roll the IRA over into another account and designate another beneficiary?

  36. Can my spouse and I combine our Traditional IRAs?

  37. Can I return funds to my Roth IRA after I have taken it as a distribution?

  38. Can a creditor seize my retirement savings?

  39. Can either a SEP IRA or a SIMPLE IRA be attached in a bankruptcy or malpractice action, or are they safe from any financial judgments like these?

  40. I will be receiving monies from a QDRO executed pursuant to my divorce. I would like to take a portion of the money as a distribution to pay for a new home. What are the tax implications of doing this?

  41. Does the five-year rule apply if a non-spouse inherits an IRA after the required beginning date and the required minimum distribution is not satisfied in the year of death?

  42. My husband has a 401(k) account which is 100% vested with an $8,000 balance. We are in foreclosure and need a hardship withdrawal. The investment management company which handles my husband's account says we can't withdraw anything because we have not con

  43. What is a good book on creating a trust that would qualify as the beneficiary for an IRA?

  44. Can IRAs be held jointly by spouses?

  45. My spouse and I now earn more than the dual-income limit specified by our IRAs. What will happen to our previous contributions?

  46. I have some stocks in a taxable account. Can I use them to fund my Roth IRA instead of using cash?

  47. What will happen to my SEP IRA if I leave my current employer?

  48. Are there special benefits for U.S. armed forces personnel?

  49. After receiving a required distribution when and how are my taxes affected?

  50. Why should investors pick less risky investments as they approach retirement?

  51. I understand that I can withdraw from a 401k the year I turn 55 without the 10% penalty (IRS 575). Can I do the same thing with an IRA without the 10% penalty?

  52. What are the "certain requirements" that must be met for substantially equal periodic payments (SEPPs)? Is it taxed at 20%? Is there any downside to the SEPP?

  53. Can a simplified employee pension (SEP) IRA be converted to a Roth IRA in the same manner that a Traditional IRA can?

  54. I'm having trouble getting my former employer to distribute my 401(k) plan balance to a rollover. Can you tell me the reasons why an employer might delay distributions and if there is a government agency I could contact to encourage the distribution?

  55. How do I sign up for the saver's tax credit?

  56. I have a small business, and I'm considering setting up an SEP IRA. What are leased employees? Does this term refer to outside contractors who receive 1099-Rs? If so, how would the 5305-SEP need to be worded to make it acceptable to the IRS?

  57. I stopped distributions from my retirement account while under Rule 72(t). Will this have any effect on future distributions that I do take? Am I subject to the 10% penalty?

  58. I withdrew funds from my Roth IRA to contribute elsewhere. How will I be taxed?

  59. Do I have to continue SEPPs for an inherited IRA?

  60. When am I not required to submit a social security number on my tax return?

  61. I failed to distribute an inherited 401(k) that was found in an audit. What happens now?

  62. What is the difference between a ROTH, SEP and Traditional IRA?

  63. Is it possible to reverse an IRA? I received a QDRO and owe money to my ex-husband. Is it possible to reverse the QDRO, which was put into a CD Traditional IRA account, without incurring any type of penalty?

  64. I overcontributed to my 401(k). What are my options?

  65. The company I am working for said that 401(k) contribution can be based on only straight time pay! The company I previously worked for allowed me to contribute on gross earnings. Has the law changed, or is the current employer wrong?

  66. I have several Roth IRA conversions, each with different custodians. When I spoke to an IRS representative, he maintained that the total amount of the conversions is always available. He told me that at any time I can take out what I had paid taxes on (wi

  67. Can a spouse who is not named as a beneficiary receive assets from an IRA?

  68. I make over $100,000/yr and my adjusted gross income precludes standard IRA contributions. My contributions to my 401(k) plan at work are limited to about $7,000/yr. It seems I'm being penalized for my income. Are there other retirement savings options av

  69. Earnings within a Roth IRA are tax free, so are these earnings included in the modified adjusted gross income which is used to determine Roth IRA eligibility?

  70. My spouse is the primary beneficiary of my IRA. I also have a contingent beneficiary. Can my spouse still transfer my IRA assets tax-free to her own IRA?

  71. Who bears the investment risk in 401(k) plans?

  72. Can my spouse and I use our IRAs to purchase our first home?

  73. What are the exceptions to the early distribution penalty for a non-qualified Roth IRA distribution?

  74. Can I roll the funds in an SEP-IRA over to a profit-sharing plan or self-directed retirement vehicle?

  75. What is the difference between a Keogh and an IRA?

  76. Can I convert non-deductible contributions made to my Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA without being taxed?

  77. What are some of the features and benefits of SEP IRAs and Roth IRAs?

  78. How do I go about opening up a Roth IRA?

  79. I am over 60 years old and have a Roth IRA to which I have made contributions for more than five years. Are all distributions tax free?

  80. Can the non-spouse beneficiary of an IRA name a successor beneficiary?

  81. What are some common and useful retirement planner designations? Are they expensive or difficult to obtain?

  82. If an employee covered by a SIMPLE leaves his employer within the two-year period and his new employer doesn't have a SIMPLE, what happens to the plan? Can the employee roll it over without penalty, or keep it at the old company until the two years expire

  83. Should I put money into a retirement account even if it isn't tax deductible?

  84. Can I have a self-directed IRA or Roth IRA using the forex market?

  85. Where can I find information on multiple annual additions for someone employed by more than one unaffiliated company?

  86. I inherited a Roth IRA. What are my options for taking distributions from the account?

  87. How long does an IRA beneficiary have to take an RMD after the IRA holder dies?

  88. I'm a teacher. Which is better for me, a 401(k) or 403(b)? What is the difference? From whom do I get these plans?

  89. I work for a university, and I have a 403(b) with TIAA-CREF. But TIAA-CREF says I cannot transfer money to another provider. Can they prevent me from transferring my money to a better investment?

  90. I have conservative views on investing. How should I go about investing in a Roth IRA?

  91. My 80-year-old mother used her Roth IRA assets to make an $11,000 annual gift tax exclusion. Will these still be considered Roth IRA assets?

  92. I am 52 years old and wish to make a withdrawal from my 401(k) plan. Is there any way I can avoid having to pay additional tax on the grounds of hardship - e.g. unemployment?

  93. Is divorce an exception to the SIMPLE IRA's two-year waiting period rule?

  94. What procedure applies to a taxpayer who made excess contributions for 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 and has neither withdrawn the excess and the earnings for 2001-2003, nor recharacterized 2004 to a Traditional IRA? How are multiple years such as this to be

  95. I deducted my IRA contribution on my tax return but failed to transfer the funds. What do I do?

  96. I am rolling my 401(k) into an IRA. After a year, can I convert this amount to a Roth IRA tax free?

  97. I have two Roth IRAs, one of which has a balance that is much less than the total contributions I have made to the account. Can I write off the losses for that account?

  98. My spouse has little/no income. Can I contribute to my spouse's IRA?

  99. I'm worried about the economy and want to move my IRA funds from stocks and bonds to cash. Will I taxed for this?

  100. Is it permissible for a 70-year-old person to buy an IRA?

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