Product Description

The premier guide for retirement and investment planning by “America’s IRA Expert” (Mutual Funds magazine)—fully updated to reflect the recent tax rule changes

With the possible e xception of home property, the most valuable asset for most Americans is their retirement fund. Yet most people don’t know that the IRS is waiting to grab up to 90 percent of their hard-earned retirement savings. Now, in this fully updated edition of The Retirement Savings Time Bomb, renowned tax advisor Ed Slott explains in clear-cut layman’s terms what people need to know to keep their money and pass it on to their families.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1413 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-18
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

From Publishers Weekly
As if the stock market hadn't been bad enough lately, sinking and taking the nation's retirement funds along with it, now IRA expert Slott has news of an additional nightmare: the IRS is eager to take a monstrous chunk out of whatever's left. Slott asserts the importance of recognizing what he calls playing the back nine, or understanding that however much you've saved over the years, it won't matter much if you haven't protected it from the taxman. Indeed, the author shares the story of one schoolteacher whose heroic efforts to stash away $1.2 million for her two children went for naught when the IRS claimed all but $150,000 for each child. A few of Slott's prescriptions: take your required distributions so you don't get hit with additional taxes; buy life insurance to offset the estate taxes that will bite into your IRA upon your death; and take advantage of the Roth IRA, which hands you your money tax-free upon retirement. Though 401(k)s, IRAs and taxes in general are notoriously complicated subjects, Slott distills the morass of information into useful strategies while striking a note that's alarmist enough to scare anyone with a retirement fund.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
As if the income tax code wasn't confusing enough, the tax law that governs the distribution of retirement accounts is even more incomprehensible. Our IRA or 401(k) accounts are often our most valuable asset, yet most people just assume these funds will be there when they're needed. But ignoring this part of your life could mean a costly loss to you or your beneficiaries, as a multitude of taxes could strip up to 90 percent of your retirement funds if some precautions are not taken. Slott is a real tax wizard, and has managed to decipher the code that lawmakers have thrown at us, where "to simplify" really means "to complicate." He spells out in fairly understandable terms the repercussions of IRA rollovers, Required Minimum Distributions, insurance, "Stretch IRAs," the "Death Tax," and other oh-so-boring yet absolutely essential information that can keep us legally one step ahead of the taxman. After taking these simple steps now to protect your wealth, keep this volume as a handy reference whenever major life changes occur that could affect your finances. David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
“Slott’s book will show you how to keep your cash all in the family.”
—USA Today

“Ed Slott cuts through the complexities and makes it possible to navigate the maze of retirement plans in such a way that you can find solutions to fit your own financial needs.”
—Money

Customer Reviews

Ridiculous
Writing reviews for Amazon is getting ridiculous. I received my order before the deadline and in the condition promised.

Buy it and save yourself $$ in retirement
A great book to avoid losing your hard earned IRA money. And great tips for passing it on to your kids.

Do you want your IRA to go to the IRS or your family?
Its hard to believe that you can spend your entire working life providing for your family and saving money to support yourself in retirement only to lose most of your retirement assets to the IRS when you die. Ed Slott's recent book provides strategies and ideas on ways to maximize your IRA and other retirement assets so that more of it stays in your family and out of the hands of the government.

Ed turns the table on the IRS and puts you in greater control of how your IRA assets are taxed and when. Using these strategies, it is possible for your beneficiaries to grow your IRA assets faster than the IRS can tax them! It's not rocket science, but you have to know how to do it.

If you have significant IRA assets and follow the strategies Ed describes, you will be able to leverage your IRA to its fullest leaving a financial legacy for your family that will provide financial security and income for decades to come -- long after you are gone. The alternative? Allow the IRS to take what they want first and let your kids fight over what is left. You decide.