Las Vegas Trusts and Estates

Save for Retirement and Don’t Make IRA Mistakes

Want a nest egg when you retire? Start early and save often.

By now, we are all pretty much aware that an IRA is a good way to support your retirement efforts. However, it is also important to avoid mistakes along the way, according to Born2Invest in “Retirement planning: 8 common IRA mistakes.”

Avoid these classic errors and keep that IRA growing!

Not contributing. This is the biggest mistake of all. Most of your retirement income will come from money you saved while you were working, not the gains they earn. Missing a single year means missing out on the compounded growth that occurs over time. Save as much as you can.

Not contributing enough. Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs let you contribute $5,500 every year. Once you turn 50, there’s a catch-up contribution so you can contribute up to $6,500. Saving the maximum amount, lets you enjoy the benefits from a tax and savings perspective.

Examining tax benefits. There are different rules for Roth IRAs, different rules for traditional IRAs and (you guessed it!) different rules for 401(k)s. Educate yourself about the different benefits that each offers. If you’re in a high tax bracket now and expect to be in a low tax bracket later in life, you might want to use a traditional IRA. However, for the opposite, a Roth might be your best bet.

Don’t forget the distributions. This is one of the costliest mistakes that people can make. Traditional IRAs have Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) that require you to take out a certain amount starting when you turn 70½. Did you miss the window? Tax penalties are steep: up to 50%. Roth IRAs don’t have RMDs, except when the account is inherited by a non-spouse beneficiary.

Pick the right retirement account for you. Far too many people just pick a traditional IRA without exploring other options. Maybe a SIMPLE or a SEP would be right for you. If you’re self-employed, there are several different retirement accounts, and you may be able to put away more pre-tax dollars.

Don’t miss rollover deadlines. When you change jobs, you can roll over an old 401(k) to an IRA with no tax penalty. However, those funds have to make it to the new account within 60 days. Best bet: do a direct rollover and remember you can only do this once every 365 days, for all your IRAs.

Invest wisely and effectively. IRAs give you some degree of choice over where you invest. Don’t just opt for the most conservative funds; diversify with a balance of higher risk and return vehicles and more stable, low-interest ones. Don’t put your money at risk but don’t let it stagnate either.

Forgetting to name beneficiaries. Just like other investment accounts, you’ll need to name a beneficiary for your retirement accounts. What your will and other estate documents say does not have any impact on the distribution of assets in your retirement accounts. You must name beneficiaries, and if possible, successor beneficiaries, so your assets go where you want them to.

An estate planning attorney can advise you in creating an estate plan that fits your circumstances.

Reference: Born2Invest (Sep. 11, 2018) “Retirement planning: 8 common IRA mistakes”

Explore the Options Beyond Roth or IRA

Retirement offerings generally begin with 401(k) and IRA. However, there is a world beyond them, when looking to save for your retirement years.

Even though an IRA is the most common offering by companies to employees to plan for their retirement, there are options beyond the norm, according to Forbes in “10 Retirement Accounts You Should Know About.”

Few of us need less money in our retirement accounts. Most of us enjoy the tax benefits we get from retirement accounts. Americans, in general, do a terrible job of saving for retirement. Some say the IRA, Roth IRA and other similar accounts were created to give us an incentive to do a better job. The tax advantages of these accounts make it more attractive to sock away money every year. These accounts were also set up with deliberate penalties, so people wouldn’t raid their accounts every time they needed a few extra dollars.

If you are among those who work for companies that have a retirement savings plan match, make the most out of it. If you put in the annual percentage or amount your plan requires, your employer will match that contribution. Most workers walk away from this money. However, it’s free money!

Employees usually are offered a 401(k), 403(b) or 457 plan from their employer. The financial institution is already chosen, the money is automatically taken out of your paycheck and often you can only make decisions about what kind of funds you can select at certain times of the year. In 2018, you can contribute up to $18,500. If you’re 50+, you can make an additional $6,000 contribution, known as a catch-up contribution.

Self-employed? You need a retirement plan more than someone who works for a company. Self-employed people have many more options. If you need help, talk to your CPA. There may be some plans that are better suited or have more tax advantages than others.

For self-employed people, the basic choices are the solo 401(k) for a sole proprietor or someone working with their spouse. You can make contributions as both the employer and the employee. You could contribute as much as $55,000 in 2018 (or, if you are 50+, $61,000). Your total contributions are determined by your net business income.

Another choice for retirement savings for the self-employed is a SEP IRA, the Simplified Employee Pension. It’s easier to set up than a 401(k)and is typically used by people with self-employment income or small business owners. As the employer, you can contribute up to a quarter of your income, or $55,000, or whichever is less. There are no catch-up contributions for a SEP IRA.

Self-employed or working for a company, your retirement plan needs to include an estate plan. Your estate planning attorney will be able to help you with a will, power of attorney and healthcare directive.

Resource: Forbes July 23, 2018 “10 Retirement Accounts You Should Know About”

Take a Good Look at Taxes at the Halfway Point

Mid-year tax planning gives you the opportunity to make any changes you think are necessary.

It is always a good idea to take a mid-year look at tax planning. However, it is especially important this year because of the new tax laws, according to Kiplinger’s article “Midyear Moves for Retirees to Rein In Their Tax Tabs.”

You could miss some real opportunities to make changes, because some taxpayers may find that they owe less taxes this year, while some will owe more. You might decide to switch from itemizing to taking the increased standard deduction. It is also possible that you’re not going to pay the AMT (alternative minimum tax) this year.

Ramp Up Your Nest Egg. Are you still working? Then max out contributions to your retirement funds to help lower your taxable income. If you are 50 and older this year, you can put away as much as $24,500 in a 401(k) and $6,500 in an IRA.

Build Health Savings Accounts. If you have an HSA, be smart and put away as much as you can. Workers with HSA-qualified health coverage can contribute $6,900 in 2018 and those with self-only coverage can squirrel away as much as $3,450. If you’re 55+, you can put in an extra $1,000. HSAs are a great tax saving tool: the money goes in pre-tax, grows tax-free and when used to pay qualified medical expenses, is withdrawn tax-free.

Consider Your Deduction Strategy. The standard deduction in 2018 is rising to $12,000 for singles and $24,000 for marrieds filing jointly, so this is the year to figure out whether to itemize. Tax reform has also limited itemized deductions. The write off for state and local income, sales and property taxes is now capped at $10,000. Seniors (65 and up) can still take an extra standard deduction of $1,300 per person for joint filers and $1,600 for singles. For a married senior couple, itemized deductions would have to be more than $26,600. If the couple uses the full $10,000 write off for state and local income, sales and property taxes, they have to come up with more than $16,600 in deductions to save by itemizing.

Medical Expenses. The medical expense deduction is still in place. It’ is better in 2018, since the threshold dropped to 7.5% of adjusted gross income. Next year, that threshold rises to 10%. If possible, you should consider bunching medical costs into 2018, so that you can take advantage of that lower threshold.

Roth IRAs. Putting money in a Roth this year won’t cut your 2018 taxes. However, if you expect tax rates to climb, now is the time to put money in a Roth and pay taxes now, rather than later. Tax reform took away the ability to reverse a Roth conversion starting in 2018, so wait until the end of the tax year when you have a clearer vision of your numbers to do any conversions.

Reference: Kiplinger (June 29, 2018) “Midyear Moves for Retirees to Rein In Their Tax Tabs”

Retirement Savings Options for Self-Employed

Unlike people who work for an employer and can set automatic deductions for their IRA accounts, self-employed people need to set up and contribute to retirement accounts. Two of the most frequently used accounts are the Simplified Employee Pension (SEP-IRA) and the Solo 401(k). Contributions to both are tax-deductible, allowing the entrepreneur to obtain tax-deferred growth and cut taxes.

Figuring out which retirement account is best for your circumstances will be easier after reviewing this article in Physician’s Money Digest, “Self-Employed Can Still Cut 2014 Taxes with a Retirement Plan.”It lists the pros and cons of each of these two accounts, along with a general description of each.

An SEP-IRAis similar to a traditional IRA in that the investment earnings grow taxed-deferred until they are withdrawn. However, a self-employed individual can save and deduct much more than the $5,500 ($6,500 if 50 and over) for contributions to a traditional IRA. SEP-IRA contribution limits are calculated as the lesser of 20% of net business income or $52,000 for 2014, $53,000 for 2015.

A Solo 401(k) is for self-employed individuals with no employees. Your spouse is not included in the employee count and is permitted to contribute to the plan if he or she is employed by the business. This 401k can be structured as a traditional 401(k) or as a Solo Roth. The maximum 2015 contribution is $53,000 or $59,000 for those 50 and older. The contribution includes (i) an annual employee deferral up to 100% of compensation or earned income for a self-employed individual (to a maximum of $18,000 and $24,000 if 50 or older), which allows some to contribute more to a Solo 401(k) than to a SEP-IRA; and (ii) an employer discretionary contribution of up to 25% of compensation as defined by the plan or 20% of earned income for a self-employed individual.

One advantage a 401(k) offers over an IRA is that you can borrow from a 401(k). If you opt for Solo Roth 401(k), there’s no deduction, but withdrawals are tax-free if you wait until you’re 59½. The plan lets you save much more than a Roth IRA. Another advantage for the Solo Roth 401(k) is that contributions aren’t subject to income limits (unlike the Roth IRA).

Which is better… a Roth or traditional IRA?It depends on many factors. If you expect to be in a higher tax bracket in the future, the Roth version may make more sense, but if your current tax rate is low, it might be better to forgo a deduction now in order to withdraw money tax-free when you’re in a higher bracket in the future. What’s nice is that it doesn’t have to be an “either-or” proposition: you can have both traditional and Roth 401(k) plans and divide contributions between them.

For most self-employed individuals, the SEP-IRA may be a better choice than a traditional IRA because the contribution limits are much higher. Also, deductions for traditional IRA contributions are limited by income for participants who are covered or whose spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work.

Talk to a qualified estate planning attorney to see how these IRA options may fit into your strategy.

Reference: Physician’s Money Digest (August 27, 2015) “Self-Employed Can Still Cut 2014 Taxes with a Retirement Plan”

Roth IRA Inheritance Planning For Grandchildren

I have a Roth IRA that I would like used for my great-grandchildren's education. Can it be inherited by minors or a trust for their benefit?

IRAs are not just about retirement planning. No, they also are important estate planning tools. This is especially true when it comes to Roth IRAs.

One specific application for Roth IRAs is in the context of inheritance planning for grandchildren. Unlike “regular IRAs,” there will be no future “income taxation” on withdrawals from Roth IRAs. MarketWatch recently explored this issue in a Q&A titled “How to leave your Roth IRA to a minor.”

Is it possible to leave a Roth IRA to grandchildren for educational purposes or, failing that, to a trust for their benefit? The short answer: yes. The Roth IRA (or other IRA) can be left as part of the inheritance simply by naming one or more individuals as the beneficiary or beneficiaries under the plan. In addition, you can name a trust as a beneficiary, thereby allowing a single IRA to either work overtime for a host of beneficiaries or to more carefully manage it.

Of course there is a long answer to this question, too. Naming a minor as a direct beneficiary to an account will require a legal guardian, which is a court-appointed role. Problem: the legal guardian appointed may not be the person you would have selected. Moreover, the IRA will not be skirting the court system as you may have intended by passing free of the courthouse.

Arguably, naming the trust as beneficiary does require the expense and thoughtfulness of establishing a trust, but the benefits typically far exceed getting caught in the legal red tape of the probate court.

Essentially, IRAs are unique assets and giving to minors always involves a bit of a challenge in and of itself. However, since IRAs are some of the most commonly owned assets, it makes good sense to plan for their efficient administration after you are gone.

So, how does your Roth IRA (or other IRA) currently fit into your estate plan?

Reference: MarketWatch (September 20, 2013) “How to leave your Roth IRA to a minor”