5 Ways To Kick Retirement Overspending

A budget is the best way to avoid running out of money in retirement Too many online shopping sprees. Frequent dinners at your favorite steak house. Pricey vacation getaways. And, of course, high inflation. Houston, we have a problem: Many retirees are spending way...

ONE BENEFICIARY, THREE IRAS, THREE DIFFERENT PAYOUT RULES

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport An advisor called and said his 75-year-old client had just passed away. He had questions about the payout rules applicable to the three IRAs the client left behind: a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA, and...

SECURE 2.0’S BIGGEST MESS

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   Of the 92 provisions in the SECURE 2.0 legislation, signed into law last December, by far the most challenging is section 327.  Section 327 changes the distribution rules for spouse beneficiaries of...

Weekly Market Commentary

-Darren Leavitt, CFA Global financial markets rallied big time last week on dovish tones from central bankers and on the notion that this interest rate hike cycle may be over.  The Bank of Japan kicked the week off with a vague move that sets their 10-year Japanese...

6 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before I Retired

A recent retiree shares lessons learned late about saving money and spending time Everyone nearing retirement has a vision of what their road will be like once they clock out of the 9-to-5. Maybe that prophecy includes regular travel, longer trips to see the...

IRA CONTRIBUTION LIMIT RAISED TO $7,000 FOR 2024

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   The IRS has released cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for 2024. Many IRA limits will increase next year. Higher IRA Contributions The limit on annual contributions to an IRA...

ROTH IRA DISTRIBUTION ORDERING RULES – KEEP IT SIMPLE

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport Within the 400-page Ed Slott advisor training manual, we include a basic chart that outlines the Roth IRA distribution ordering rules and the availability of those specific dollars. When presenting...

Weekly Market Commentary

-Darren Leavitt, CFA Equity markets faced another wave of selling as the S&P 500 went into correction territory, down 10.13% from the end of July.  Investors saw some relief from the bond market, but trade in Sovereign debt continued to lack a safe-haven bid...

COMMON CONFUSIONS WITH THE ONCE-PER-YEAR ROLLOVER RULE

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport The once-per-year IRA rollover rule sounds pretty easy to understand. You may only do one IRA-to-IRA (or Roth IRA-to-Roth IRA rollover) per year (365 days). However, this rule is...

Weekly Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary – 10/20/2023 -Darren Leavitt, CFA This week, the debt market resumed its sell-off and wreaked havoc on the equity markets.  The US 10-year bond yield hit 5% for the first time since 2007, while longer-tenured issues felt the brunt of the...

Don’t Make This Big Retirement Mistake

A recent survey of Americans who have yet to retire found that just 10% have made plans to receive the biggest possible Social Security payout. And it’s not because people don’t know that Social Security pays bigger benefits the longer you wait to claim. More than 90%...

IRA MID-TERM EXAM

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Follow Us on X: @theslottreport The Investment Company Institute (ICI) is an association representing mutual fund companies and similar investment companies. Each year, ICI conducts a survey of the prevalence of IRAs in American...

Weekly Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary – 10/13/2023 -Darren Leavitt, CFA US equity markets finished the week with mixed results as investors digested the first tranche of third-quarter earnings results. JP Morgan, Citi Bank, Wells Fargo, and United Healthcare had...

What Is a Fixed Index Annuity?

The S&P 500 represents about 80% of the total market capitalization of large-cap U.S. stocks (market price per common share multiplied by the number of common shares outstanding). As it is so widespread, many market analysts use it as an indicator of the overall...

HOW TO LOSE AN INHERITED IRA AND GAIN A BIG TAX BILL

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education Follow Us on X: @theslottreport   Did you inherit an IRA from someone who is NOT your spouse? This is not uncommon. Maybe you inherited from a sibling or a parent or a friend. If this is your situation,...