Product Description

If you are...

*approaching retirement *retiring early *changing jobs *looking to borrow money from your retirement plan *wondering what to do with an inherited plan

...you need this book! It helps you make sense of the rules that govern distributions from retirement plans, and avoid the stiff penalties that lurk in the fine print. It covers the different types of retirement plans -- including 401(k)s and other profit-sharing plans, Keoghs, IRAs and tax-deferred annuities -- and the taxes and penalties that can deplete your nest egg.

In accessible, plain English, this book covers:

*tax strategies before retirement *tax strategies at retirement *dividing a plan at divorce *penalties for taking money out early *minimizing taxes *distributions you must take *distributions to your heirs

The 7th edition is completely updated with the latest tax rates, tables and methods for calculating required distributions. It also provides new information on Roth IRAs and bankruptcy.

With this book as your guide, you'll know the rules, avoid the penalties and save for your future like a pro.

TABLE OF CONTENT:

I. How to Use This Book

1. Types of Retirement Plans

A. Qualified Plans B. Individual Retirement Accounts C. Almost-Qualified Plans D. Nonqualified Plans

2. An Overview of Tax Rules

A. Taxation Fundamentals B. General Income Tax Rules for Retirement Plans C. Income Tax on Qualified Plans and Qualified Annuities D. Special Income Tax Rules for Tax-Deferred Annuities E. Special Income Tax Rules for IRAs F. How Penalties Can Guide Planning

3. Early Distributions: Taking Your Money Out Before the Law Allows

A. Exceptions to the Early Distribution Tax B. Calculating the Tax C. Reporting the Tax D. Special Rules for IRAs

4. Substantially Equal Periodic Payments

A. Computing Periodic Payments B. Implementing and Reporting Your Decision C. Modifying the Payments

5. Required Distributions: Taking Money Out When You Have To

A. Required Distributions During Your Lifetime B. Death Before Required Beginning Date C. Death After Required Beginning Date D. Special Rules for Tax-Deferred Annuities E. Special Rules for Roth IRAs F. Penalty G. Waiver

6. Required Distributions During Your Lifetime

A. Required Beginning Date B. Computing the Required Amount C. Designating a Beneficiary D. Special Rules for Annuities E. Divorce or Separation

7. Distributions to Your Beneficiary If You Die Before Age 70½

A. Determining the Designated Beneficiary B. Distribution Methods C. Spouse Beneficiary D. Nonspouse Beneficiary E. No Designated Beneficiary F. Multiple Beneficiaries, Separate Accounts G. Multiple Beneficiaries, One Account H. Trust Beneficiary I. Estate as Beneficiary J. Annuities K. Divorce or Separation L. Reporting Distributions From IRAs

8. Distributions to Your Beneficiary If You Die After Age 70½

A. Administrative Details B. Spouse Beneficiary C. Nonspouse Beneficiary D. No Designated Beneficiary E. Multiple Beneficiaries, Separate Accounts F. Multiple Beneficiaries, One Account G. Trust Beneficiary H. Estate as Beneficiary I. Annuities J. Divorce or Separation

9. Roth IRAs

A. Taxation of Distributions B. Early Distribution Tax C. Ordering of Distributions D. Required Distributions

Appendixes

A. IRS Forms, Notices, and Schedules

Form 4972, Tax on Lump-Sum Distributions Tax Rate Schedule for 1986 Form 5329, Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts Form 5330, Return of Excise Taxes Related to Employee Benefit Plans Form 5498, IRA Contribution Information Form 8606, Nondeductible IRAs Revenue Ruling 2002-62

B. Life Expectancy Tables

Table I: Single Life Expectancy Table II: Joint Life and Last Survivor Expectancy Table III: Uniform Lifetime Table Table IV: Survivor Benefit Limits

Index

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #855553 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Amazon.com Review
IRA's, 401(k)s & Other Retirement Plans, by financial specialists Twila Slesnick and John C. Suttle, is a solid self-help legal look at a critical back-end issue that most of us blissfully ignore until we absolutely must confront it. The authors themselves admit it is not a compelling page-turner, but rather a comprehensive resource that at some point should prove indispensable to everyone with a retirement plan. They describe the various plans available--including Roth IRAs, to which an entire chapter is devoted--focusing on distribution rules, associated taxes, and potential penalties. They offer details on early distributions used to pay higher-education expenses or health-insurance premiums (which are not subject to taxes, under certain explicit conditions), distributions you must take during your lifetime (when they begin, how they're computed, what happens if your beneficiary changes), and distributions made after an account holder dies (largely concentrating on administrative procedures that could help you avoid unnecessary financial loss). Helpful appendices include relevant IRS forms, notices, and schedules as well as life-expectancy tables. --Howard Rothman

Review
"An explanation of the complicated rules on withdrawal, written for ordinary people." -- Hank Ezell,Atlanta Journal Constitution

"Belongs on the bookshelf of anyone with an IRA, 401(k) or other type of qualified retirement plan." -- Kiplinger's Personal Finance

"Few resources are as valuable when it comes to financial planning in later life." -- The Wall Street Journal

Review
"An explanation of the complicated rules on withdrawal, written for ordinary people."

Customer Reviews

Pay attention to the sub-title
The reviewer plugging the "MarketBuster" book has totally missed the point of this NOLO book, which is given in the subtitle: Taking Your Money Out. The reviewer is talking about strategies for growing your account.

When you're in the savings/growing mode you're in a whole different situation than you're in when you're having to withdraw and/or live off your account. Going from one to the other requires a major change in strategy and, more important, a MAJOR change in mindset and, often, life style.

You're confronted with a whole new set of regulations, whether the reason for the change is retirement, inheriting an account, etc. The biggest change in mindset is that instead of the pleasant pre-retirement situation of watching the money accumulate, you have to recognize that you're now going to be watching it DECLINE. And unless you've got a tremendously more than sufficient account, you're going to have to live with the knowledge that you could outlive the account, possibly due to your own mistakes, some of which this book can help you avoid.

Four years ago I was confronted with making this shift a whole lot sooner than I'd planned, and with getting control of my retirement accounts under conditions where I had little help. Without the previous edition of this NOLO book, I would have been totally lost and probably made serious mistakes.

Now, one caveat: This book does not tell you how to MANAGE your withdrawals and account so as to produce INCOME; as one should expect from NOLO press as a LEGAL advice publishing house, it deals with the nuts, bolts, traps and hazards of the PROCESS of getting the money out.

In my situation I also found that there is not a whole lot of good material out there on the subject of managing your money and account IN the WITHDRAWAL stage, and this subject is affecting more and more people, as the country shifts from defined benefit (pensions) plans to plans like 401Ks and IRAs that place the job of investing and managing on the individual.

It is a whole lot more complex, risky, and stressful than most people realize, especially considering the general abysmal education (lack of) even young people receive on the subject, let alone people my age who were raised to count on pensions, etc. (And thank goodness for Social Security, which while far from adequate, can still supply a firm base of about 30 to 50% of a retirement income; although that's another issue)

So I recommend this book as essential for the basic procedures, but you will also need additional information on how to manage your income account(s). Personally, in addition to a good fee based financial planner, I found invaluable help from folks who have actually been doing the job for years, especially in the forums of Morningstar, for example. But you have to be on constant alert for scamsters and the whole "how to be a billionaire" publishing crowd. You're going to have to invest some serious time and effort in educating yourself for a the whole new job of retirement, and this book is an excellent place to start, preferably BEFORE you actually have to start TAKING YOUR MONEY OUT.

Thorough coverage for the tax professional. Easy to use.
I do taxes. I have been a "tax professional," working for a reputable CPA firm, for eighteen years.

I imagine that most people think that we always read the most obscure laws, regulations and treatises on tax subjects before we make our decisions and recommendations. The fact is that most professionals are delighted to find publications which make good information easy to find. This book does that.

"How to Take Your Money Out" gives thorough coverage to a very complicated subject. Equally important is that it is almost enjoyable to read and that finding what you are looking for is easy. It is well organized and well indexed. When I looked for answers, I found them, on the first shot.

There are plenty of people, both professionals and taxpayers, who are wondering what to do about IRA and other retirement plan distributions. Having this book on the shelf will give you confidence that you'll know where to look when you need the answers.

Single Best Resource Book on Retirement Plan Distributions
In my career, I work almost exclusively with retirees, and I have found this book to be the best resource for Retirement Distributions. It explains the rules in a concise manner, and includes the special rules for Roth IRAs. This is an especially good reference book for advisors because it goes in depth- not just the basics.