The Potentially Dire Consequences to Your Legacy with the “Death of the Stretch” IRA

Posted on by in Beneficiary Designations, Current Events, Economy, Estate Planning, Estate Tax, Financial Scandals, Government Programs, Inherited IRAs, Roth IRA, Stretch IRA and tagged , , , , , , .

The Death of the Stretch IRA is rearing its ugly head again.

 

Death of the Stretch Inherited IRAs by James Lange CPA/Attorney in Pittsburgh, PAAs I have written about, this is personal to me. I was hoping that distributions from my Roth IRA and IRA would be “stretched” over the life of my daughter and maybe grandchildren.  It could make a difference of well over a million dollars to my family.

If you have a million dollar or more IRA or retirement plan, this threatened (but as yet not totally defined) legislation could be just as devastating to you and your family.  Once the two houses reconcile their differences (see the above post for the details of the different proposals), established estate plans will likely need to be reevaluated.  This threat increases the merits of Lange’s Cascading Beneficiary Plan or a similar flexible estate plan. It also creates an even greater incentive for IRA owners considering significant Roth IRA conversions.

I wrote two books on this topic based on the proposal that advanced through the Senate Finance Committee beginning in 2016. While the changes to IRA and retirement plan distribution rules weren’t included in the last set of tax changes (much to our surprise), clearly the idea still has a huge bipartisan appeal.

The action points in both books was to reconsider and revisit the idea of converting more of your IRAs to Roth IRAs. This is consistent with my most recent recommendations encouraging higher conversions because of the low income-tax rates we are currently enjoying.  The threat of losing the ability to stretch distributions from IRAs and retirement plans for generations only makes looking into Roth IRA conversions more compelling. If you have an IRA and/or other retirement plan and were hoping to leave it to your heirs with a favorable tax treatment and want to be kept up to date with this information, please call our offices at 412-521-2732.

4 Reasons Why We’re Excited that Retire Secure! is Interactive on the Web!

Posted on by in 401(k), Beneficiary Designations, Economy, Estate Planning, Index Investing, IRAs, Lange’s Cascading Beneficiary Plan, Life Insurance, Retire Secure!, Retirement Planning, Roth 401(k), Roth IRA, Roth IRA Conversions, Social Security, Tax Law, Traditional IRA and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

If you haven’t made your way to www.langeretirementbook.com yet, now is the time!

Here at the Lange Financial Group, LLC, we are very excited to bring you an interactive version of Retire Secure! A Guide to Getting the Most Out of What You’ve Got.

Reason #1 – The entire book is on this website. Yes, all 420 pages of the book, including the front and back covers, all about the best strategies for retirement and estate planning.

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Reason #2 – The book is divided into chapters for ease of reading. Meaning, you don’t have to flip through 400-some pages to get to Chapter 11 – The Best Ways to Transfer Wealth and Cut Taxes for the Next Generation.

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Reason #3 – We honestly haven’t seen anything like this before. Granted, I’ve read magazines on viewers where you can flip the pages as you read. But not a website for a book that includes a viewer, as well as a forum where readers can engage with each other.

The comments are moderated by the Lange Financial Group, LLC staff and myself. One of us will reply to your comment as soon as we can. To leave a comment, all you need to do is connect with your Amazon, Facebook, or LinkedIn account. This measure is for your protection, as well as ours. We don’t want spammers posting comments or incorrect information about such an important topic.

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Reason #4 – We are hoping this interactive website encourages you to purchase the book! Retire Secure! is available from Amazon and JamesLange.com. Once you’ve read the book, feel free to return to LangeRetirementBook.com to ask questions, as well as Amazon and Goodreads to review the book for the benefit of others.

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The Third Edition of Retire Secure has Finally Arrived!

Posted on by in Estate Planning, Retirement Planning and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

The new edition of Retire Secure! A Guide to Getting The Most out Of What You’ve Got is the distilled and concentrated version of the recommendations we have developed over 30 years. It is particularly useful for IRA and retirement plan owners.

We will soon be sending our clients a copy with a personalized note directing you to what we think will be the most relevant sections for you to read. This personalization has been a huge project, but it’s something that I think will be enormously helpful to you.

Retire Secure! will be available for purchase in bookstores and on Amazon in October. However, if you absolutely cannot wait, the book is available for Kindle and Amazon pre-order here.

Amazon Kindle Pre-Order Retire Secure! James Lange

The core concepts of the current edition are similar to the two previous editions (Wiley, 2006 and 2009). Recent legislative changes, however, have led to important strategy adjustments that are incorporated in the latest edition.

  • In Part 1, The Accumulation Years, we include some new strategies that were not available in 2009.
  • In Part 2, The Distribution Years, we cover how to spend down retirement funds in the right order to manage your assets wisely, but that area is more complicated than ever because of some of the new tax laws. We have also updated recommendations for Roth conversions, and the impact of a potential new law for IRA and retirement plan owners and their families — the death of the stretch IRA. It could be devastating for your children. Though there is no perfect answer, I do address some of the best strategies I know to reduce the pain of the likely changes in the IRA law.
  • In Part 3, we’ve updated the Eddie and Emily Estate Planning case study. Essentially, it incorporates the updated Lange’s Cascading Beneficiary Plan, which many of you already have in your wills and trusts.

If you’ve read previous versions of Retire Secure!, I hope you’ll find the updates and changes enlightening. To make the new material easier to find, I have included a section that highlights the changes. And if you’re new to the book, I hope you’ll take this as an opportunity to really educate yourself on these principles and sound practices. There’s mathematical proof that optimizing the strategies you use to approach saving, investing, estate planning, and distributing assets could mean a dierence of millions of dollars over your lifetime and for your heirs.

It’s my fervent wish that Retire Secure! will help you live a happier, healthier, and more secure life!

Jim

Trusts as Beneficiaries of Retirement Plans: A Possible Alternative to the Stretch IRA?

Posted on by in Beneficiary Designations, Estate Planning, Estate Tax, IRAs, Retire Secure!, Retirement Planning, Tax Law and tagged , , , , , , , , , .

trusts james langeIf you’ve read my earlier posts, you know that much of the new edition of Retire Secure! addresses the ramifications of the legislation that, if passed, will kill the Stretch IRA. If this potential change is a concern for your family, then Chapter 17 is a “must-read” for you because it offers a possible alternative that will allow them to continue the tax deferral of your retirement plan for many years.

Trusts may be appropriate in many situations. We use them for young beneficiaries who, by law, cannot inherit money, and for older beneficiaries who can’t be trusted with money. Trusts can also be used to help minimize taxes at death (although this is not as common as in previous years). With more frequency, though, our office is using trusts to replace the benefits of the Stretch IRA. This application started when all of these campaigns to kill the Stretch IRA began, and we began to seek alternatives for our clients. Chapter 17 compares the value of an IRA assuming that the non-spouse beneficiary must withdraw the proceeds within 5 years, to the value of an IRA when it is protected by a specific type of trust. I think you will find the results very surprising.

The rules governing trusts are very complex, and, if you are interested in incorporating them in to your own estate plan, you will need the assistance of a competent professional.

Do you donate to charity? If so, my next post will cover the changes in the laws that affect charitable contributions.

All the best,

Jim

Jim Lange, Retirement and Estate Planning A nationally recognized IRA, Roth IRA conversion, and 401(k) expert, he is a regular speaker to both consumers and professional organizations. Jim is the creator of the Lange Cascading Beneficiary Plan™, a benchmark in retirement planning with the flexibility and control it offers the surviving spouse, and the founder of The Roth IRA Institute, created to train and educate financial advisors.

Jim’s strategies have been endorsed by The Wall Street Journal (33 times), Newsweek, Money Magazine, Smart Money, Reader’s Digest, Bottom Line, and Kiplinger’s. His articles have appeared in Bottom Line, Trusts and Estates Magazine, Financial Planning, The Tax Adviser, Journal of Retirement Planning, and The Pennsylvania Lawyer magazine.

Jim is the best-selling author of Retire Secure! (Wiley, 2006 and 2009), endorsed by Charles Schwab, Larry King, Ed Slott, Jane Bryant Quinn, Roger Ibbotson and The Roth Revolution, Pay Taxes Once and Never Again endorsed by Ed Slott, Natalie Choate and Bob Keebler.

If you’d like to be reminded as to when the book is coming out please fill out the form below.

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Ways to Cut Taxes for the Next Generation – Consider Gifting Money to Children

Posted on by in Beneficiary Designations, Estate Planning, Retire Secure!, Retirement Planning, Tax Law and tagged , , , , , , , , .

gifting money to children lange financial groupIn January of 2015, President Obama proposed eliminating the tax-free benefits of Section 529 college savings plans. Under his proposal, savings would grow tax-deferred, but withdrawals would be taxed as income to the beneficiary (usually the student). His belief was that taxpayers who save in 529 plans are families who can better afford the cost of college than everyone else. In reality, it is estimated that close to ten percent of 529 accounts are owned by households having income below $50,000, and over 70 percent are owned by households with income below $150,000. What isn’t surprising, though, is that the tax revenue realized by this action would have been significant, because as of the end of the 4th quarter of 2014, the assets held in 529 and other college savings plans reached almost a quarter of a trillion dollars. How many students would have been forced to apply for loans if they had been required to pay tax on withdrawals from their college savings plans? Fortunately, the House of Representatives thought differently than the President and, in February of 2015, they passed HR 529. This bill not only maintains the tax-free status of 529 plans, but also makes them more flexible and easier to use. Hopefully the Senate will follow the House’s lead and pass a companion bill with similar provisions.

Do you have college savings plans established for your children or grandchildren and, if so, were you aware of this attack on their tax-free status?

Gifting money to children

Contributing to college savings plans for children and grandchildren is a form of gifting, which is a topic that I discuss in detail in Chapter 11 of Retire Secure!. Gifting money to children is an excellent way to minimize taxes at your death, and, depending on the amount gifted, can also provide the recipient with tax-free income. Unfortunately, strategies that reduce taxes frequently come under fire and it is critical that you stay on top of the rules. Also discussed in this chapter are the perils of gifting to relatives in an attempt to avoid seizure of your to pay for nursing home care. It’s a bad idea – don’t even think about it – but it is still beneficial to understand the laws on this subject.

Many couples are not aware that the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 introduced a concept called portability that makes estate taxes less of a concern for many individuals than in the past. If you have not had your estate plan reviewed since 2012, you should read Chapter 11 to learn about the potential pitfalls of what I call “The Cruelest Trap of All”. Since the passage of this act, many estate plans are outdated and could cause the surviving spouse to be disinherited at the first spouse’s death.

Gifting money to children strategies, and the tax implications of gifting, should be a critical part of every estate plan. Changes in legislation that were not anticipated at the time the plan was established, though, can make your plan ineffective and in some cases disastrous. As much has changed in this area; please read Chapter 11 thoroughly to see how you might be affected.

Stop back soon!

Jim

Jim Lange, Retirement and Estate Planning A nationally recognized IRA, Roth IRA conversion, and 401(k) expert, he is a regular speaker to both consumers and professional organizations. Jim is the creator of the Lange Cascading Beneficiary Plan™, a benchmark in retirement planning with the flexibility and control it offers the surviving spouse, and the founder of The Roth IRA Institute, created to train and educate financial advisors.

Jim’s strategies have been endorsed by The Wall Street Journal (33 times), Newsweek, Money Magazine, Smart Money, Reader’s Digest, Bottom Line, and Kiplinger’s. His articles have appeared in Bottom Line, Trusts and Estates Magazine, Financial Planning, The Tax Adviser, Journal of Retirement Planning, and The Pennsylvania Lawyer magazine.

Jim is the best-selling author of Retire Secure! (Wiley, 2006 and 2009), endorsed by Charles Schwab, Larry King, Ed Slott, Jane Bryant Quinn, Roger Ibbotson and The Roth Revolution, Pay Taxes Once and Never Again endorsed by Ed Slott, Natalie Choate and Bob Keebler.

If you’d like to be reminded as to when the book is coming out please fill out the form below.

Thank you.

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Which Is Better the Traditional or the Roth IRA

Posted on by in Income Tax, IRAs, IRS, Retirement Planning, Roth 401(k), Roth IRA, Roth IRA Conversions, Tax Law, Traditional IRA and tagged , , , , , , , , , .

Retire Secure! Third Edition, A Guide To Making The Most Out Of What You've Got, James Lange
A theme which appears consistently throughout the third edition of Retire Secure! is the question of which is better – the traditional or Roth IRA. Changes in the law since Edition Two was written, as well as additional changes that our current administration is pressing for, make it the million dollar question.

In order to answer the question, we dedicated Chapter 2 to comparing the pros and cons of each type of account as they exist under the current law. If you are not familiar with the rules of each IRA account, it is probably worth your time to read this chapter. Subsequent chapters address the proposed changes to the rules, and how they might affect your decision when reviewing your retirement plan options. And, due to popular demand, I’ve added a section about the IRS ordering rules, which explains how to avoid tax and penalty if you need to withdraw money from a Roth account before five years has passed.

The IRA illustrations were calculated using a 6% rate of return, and the maximum contribution amount as established by the IRS. We also ran an illustration that shows, for those who don’t have a lot of time left to save, the difference in the accounts when contributions are made for a very limited number of years.

A final note about tax brackets: when Edition Two was written, the maximum tax rate was 35%. Subsequent changes in the tax laws increased the maximum rate to 39.6%. This difference of almost 5% is more significant than you might think. The impact of the increased tax brackets is discussed in detail in subsequent chapters, but the concept is first introduced in Chapter 2.

Check back soon for an update on Chapter 3!

Jim

Jim Lange A nationally recognized IRA, Roth IRA conversion, and 401(k) expert, he is a regular speaker to both consumers and professional organizations. Jim is the creator of the Lange Cascading Beneficiary Plan™, a benchmark in retirement planning with the flexibility and control it offers the surviving spouse, and the founder of The Roth IRA Institute, created to train and educate financial advisors.

Jim’s strategies have been endorsed by The Wall Street Journal (33 times), Newsweek, Money Magazine, Smart Money, Reader’s Digest, Bottom Line, and Kiplinger’s. His articles have appeared in Bottom Line, Trusts and Estates Magazine, Financial Planning, The Tax Adviser, Journal of Retirement Planning, and The Pennsylvania Lawyer magazine.

Jim is the best-selling author of Retire Secure! (Wiley, 2006 and 2009), endorsed by Charles Schwab, Larry King, Ed Slott, Jane Bryant Quinn, Roger Ibbotson and The Roth Revolution, Pay Taxes Once and Never Again endorsed by Ed Slott, Natalie Choate and Bob Keebler.

If you’d like to be reminded as to when the book is coming out please fill out the form below.

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What the Scaife Case Teaches Us: Using a Bank or a Lawyer as a Trustee doesn’t Guarantee Proper Fiduciary Care

Posted on by in Beneficiary Designations, Estate Planning and tagged , , , , , , , , , .

5MU0KKFTThe late Richard Mellon Scaife. The trust at the center of the litigation was created in 1935 by his mother, Sarah Mellon Scaife. (Photo Courtesy of Tony Tye/Post-Gazette)

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/2015/01/15/Scaife-children/stories/201501150289

On January 15, 2015 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ran an article (Scaife children seek details on drained trust) outlining an ongoing court case between the children of Richard Mellon Scaife and the trustees of their grandmother’s trust. The trust was set up in 1935 by the children’s grandmother for the benefit of Richard Mellon Scaife, but apparently language in the document also suggested that some of the principal should be saved for R.M. Scaife’s children. When Mr. Scaife died in July of 2014, Jeannie Scaife and David N. Scaife found that the fund that had contained $210 million dollars in 2005 was now completely drained. They allege that the trustees for the account allowed and even encouraged inappropriate spending from the fund by the late Mr. Scaife.

This case offers a vivid illustration of a point that Pittsburgh CPA, James Lange, has been sharing with his clients for more than 30 years: Trusts are wonderful vehicles to protect and provide for your family for generations, but choosing the right trustees makes all the difference. Creating trusts with banks and lawyers as trustees, even after paying the enormous fees, doesn’t guarantee appropriate fiduciary care.

Lange insists that the moral of the story, no matter how the case turns out, is that most people, even billionaires, will usually be better off with reliable family members as trustees. The family members can hire accountants, attorneys, and money managers to help them manage and maintain the trust. If those people aren’t appropriate or fulfilling their duties properly they can be fired, but control is retained by the family instead of bankers and lawyers whose first duty might not be to your family’s legacy.

If you need help with your financial planning contact us at (800) 387-1129 or (412) 521-2732.

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Back Door IRA, The Conclusion

Posted on by in 401(k), 403(b), Estate Planning, Income Tax, Index Investing, IRAs, Life Insurance, Retirement Planning, Roth 401(k), Roth IRA, Roth IRA Conversions, Social Security, Tax Law, Traditional IRA and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Roth-IRA-conversions,James-LangeRecharacterizations

Disclaimer: Please note that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 removed the ability for taxpayers to do any “recharacterizations” of Roth IRA conversions after 12/31/2017. The material below was created and published prior the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. 

Converting to a Roth IRA also comes with another very unique advantage. The IRS allows you a one-time opportunity to recharacterize or “undo” this conversion by October 15th of the following tax year. IRS publication 590 states that, “a recharacterization allows you to ‘undo’ or ‘reverse’ a rollover or conversion to a Roth IRA. To recharacterize, you generally instruct the trustee of the financial institution holding your Roth IRA to transfer the amount back to a traditional IRA (in a trustee-to-trustee or within the same trustee). If you do this by the due date for your tax return (including extensions), you can treat the contribution as made to the traditional IRA for that year (effectively ignoring the Roth IRA contribution)”. In the case of a Backdoor Roth IRA, you probably won’t think about recharacterizing. However, if you want to explore this option, we are here to help assist you, because like many of the other rules involved this can be complicated.

Conclusion

While Backdoor Roth IRAs can be beneficial to many investors, they aren’t for everyone. They come with their limitations and complications. There are precautions that need to be taken to reap the full benefits of any financial decision. This is an area where a highly informed financial advisor can help you make an educated and calculated decision. You should always consult with your financial advisor and tax professional to help avoid tax ramifications.

As always, we are here to help and can look at your specific financial situation and chart the right path for you. If you are interested in learning more about whether or not a Backdoor Roth would be right for you and your specific situation, please call us and we would be happy to discuss this with you. As always, we enjoy the opportunity to assist you in addressing your financial matters.

Financial Check-Up

 

Complimentary Financial Check-up

If you are currently not a client of The Lange Financial Group, we would like to offer you a complimentary, one-hour, private consultation with one of our professionals at absolutely no cost or obligation to you.

To schedule your financial check-up, please call 412-521-2732 or fill out our Pre-Qualification Form here.

Thank you,
James Lange

 

 

This article is for informational purposes only. This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax, legal or investment planning advice as individual situations will vary. For specific advice about your situation, please consult with a lawyer or financial professional.

The Roth IRA offers tax deferral on any earnings in the account. Withdrawals from the account may be tax free, as long as they are considered qualified. Limitations and restrictions may apply. Withdrawals prior to age 59 ½ may result in a 10% IRS penalty tax. Future tax laws can change at any time and may impact the benefits of Roth IRAs. Their tax treatment may change.

Roth IRA account owners should consider the potential tax ramifications, age and contribution deductibility limits in regard to executing a re-characterization of a Roth IRA to a Traditional IRA.

The views stated in this letter are not necessarily the opinion of The Lange Financial Group, LLC, and should not be construed, directly or indirectly, as an offer to buy or sell any securities mentioned herein. Investors should be aware that there are risks inherent in all investments, such as fluctuations in investment principal. With any investment vehicle, past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Material discussed herewith is meant for general illustration and/or informational purposes only, please note that individual situations can vary. Therefore, the information should be relied upon when coordinated with individual professional advice. This material contains forward looking statements and projections. There are no guarantees that these results will be achieved. © Academy of Preferred Financial Advisors, 2014

 

Benefits of a Roth IRA

Posted on by in 401(k), Income Tax, IRAs, Retirement Planning, Roth IRA, Roth IRA Conversions, Tax Law, Traditional IRA and tagged , , , , , , , , , .

Back Door IRA, James Lange, Pittsburgh, Retirement Planning

There are numerous benefits to converting to a Roth IRA. Please remember, it is important to review all of your retirement accounts before converting to a Roth IRA. Some benefits of a Roth IRA include;

• Required minimum distributions are not obligatory until the participant’s death.

• Withdrawals are tax free.

• They pass onto your heirs income tax-free.

• You can compound your investments in a tax-free fashion.

 

Am I a Candidate for a Backdoor Roth IRA?

Backdoor Roth IRAs can be appropriate for investors who:

  • Only have retirement account through their jobs (i.e. 401k’s) and want to increase their retirement savings in tax-advantaged accounts, but whose income is too high to qualify for standard Roth IRA contributions; and
  • Have the time and ability to wait for five years or until they are 59 ½ to avoid the 10% penalty on early withdrawals. (If you open and make contributions to a Roth IRA in the standard manner, i.e. not through conversion, you are not subject to this rule).

A Backdoor Roth IRA is probably not recommended if you:

  • Are over the age of 70½ and can no longer contribute to a traditional IRA.
  • Don’t want to contribute more than the maximum retirement limit through your workplace retirement account.
  • Already have money in a traditional IRA and because of the Pro Rata rule may end up in a non-tax advantageous position when converting to a Backdoor Roth IRA.
  • Plan or expect to withdraw the funds in the Roth IRA within the first five years of opening it. A Backdoor Roth is considered a conversion and not a contribution. Therefore, the funds will incur a 10% penalty if withdrawn within five years unless you are age 59 ½ or older.
  • Are in a high tax bracket now and expect to be in a lower tax bracket in the future.
  • Plan to relocate to a lower- or no- income tax state.

 

Stay tuned for my next blog post, Recharacterizations and the Conclusion!

Disclaimer: Please note that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 removed the ability for taxpayers to do any “recharacterizations” of Roth IRA conversions after 12/31/2017. The material below was created and published prior the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. 

Want to learn more? Give us a call at 412-521-2732.

– James Lange

 

Beware of the Pro Rata Rule for Roth Conversions

Posted on by in 401(k), IRAs, IRS, Retirement Planning, Roth 401(k), Roth IRA, Roth IRA Conversions, Tax Law, Traditional IRA and tagged , , , , , , , , , , .

What is the Pro Rata rule for Roth conversions?

The Pro Rata rule for Roth conversions states that if you have any other deductible IRAs (i.e. a previous 401k that you’ve rolled over), the conversion of any contributions becomes a taxable event that you’ll need to pay taxes on upfront.

The Pro Rata rule for Roth conversions determines whether or not your conversion will be taxable! For taxation purposes, the IRS will look at your entire IRA holdings (even if they are in different accounts), not just the traditional IRA you are converting to a Roth IRA, and will determine what your tax bill will be based upon a ratio of IRA assets that have already been taxed to those IRA assets in total.

The IRS determines the tax on this conversion based on the value of all of your IRA assets. For example Jane, a high income earner, already has $94,500 in an IRA account, all of which has never been taxed.  She decides on January 2nd to put $5,500 into a new traditional IRA. The next day she converts the new traditional non-deductible IRA to a Roth IRA.  Jane’s income is too high for her to make a direct contribution into a Roth IRA, but there’s no income limit on conversions.  Unlike Bill she has $94,500 in other IRAs (previously non-taxed), so her total IRA assets are now $100,000. When she converts $5,500 to a Roth IRA, the IRS pro-rates her tax basis on the previous taxation of her total IRA assets, therefore making this conversion 94.5% taxable ($94,500/100,000 = 94.5%).

So if you plan on using this backdoor IRA strategy, you want to be clear as to whether or not you have any other IRAs. As you can see, this can be a confusing area and this is where we can help.  If you are a high income earner we would be happy to review your situation to determine if this strategy is in your best interest.

Also, please remember that your spouse’s IRA is separate from yours.

Stay tuned for my next blog post, Benefits of a Roth IRA!

Want to learn more? Give us a call at 412-521-2732.

– James Lange