Making Sense of the Roth 401(k)-to-Roth IRA Rollover Rules

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst One of the most common retirement account transactions – rolling over Roth 401(k) funds to Roth IRAs – is also one of the most complicated tax-wise. That’s because the rollover involves two five-year holding periods, one for...

How Your RMD Statement Can Help You

  Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The rules for required minimum distributions (RMDs) can be complicated and, under the law, the responsibility to get it right rests with the IRA owner. If you are required to take an RMD from your IRA for 2026,...

2026: Here We Go Again!

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst It’s a new year, and the slate is wiped clean. Here we go again! While we are only one week into 2026, there are some important IRA and work plan transactions to be aware of: First RMDs. For anyone turning age 73 in 2026, this year...

Best of the 2025 Slott Report

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education ‘Tis the season for lists! Best TV shows, best of music and best podcasts. The lists go on and on. In the spirit of year-end lists, we present the “Best of the 2025 Slott Report.” Here are the retirement account...

Grinch Gifts: Penalties and Missed Opportunities

  By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst The Grinch likes it when things go horribly wrong. He likes it when rambunctious pets tip over Christmas trees. He likes it when festive lights get terribly tangled, and he likes it when holiday cards are lost in the mail....

Holiday Cheers and Jeers

  By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst In the spirit of the holiday season, here’s a list of cheers and jeers for the IRS and Congress: Cheers to the IRS: To its credit, the IRS did issue timely guidance on two retirement-related provisions set to kick in next year. The...

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The holidays are here and the countdown to year’s end has started. For many retirement account owners, this means that an important deadline is fast approaching. Most of those who are age 73 or older will need to...

The Wonderful, Magical Form 5498

  By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst In a scene from “The Simpsons,” daughter Lisa announces she has become a vegetarian. Homer asks some probing questions. “Are you saying you’re never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon? Ham? Pork chops?” When...

IRS Addresses Unanswered Questions About Trump Accounts

  Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst As is often the case with new legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) left unanswered a number of questions about Trump Accounts, the new savings vehicle for children. Some of those questions were discussed in a Slott...

New IRS Guidance on Trump Accounts Is Released

  Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education The IRS has issued guidance on Trump Accounts, which are new tax advantaged accounts for children established as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Trump Accounts are scheduled to become available...

Yes, RMDs Apply to Inherited Roth IRAs, But…

  By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst We have written about this topic in The Slott Report before (“Inherited Roth IRA: RMDs or No?” – May 15, 2023), yet the questions continue to roll in. Yes, required minimum distributions (RMDs). DO APPLY to inherited Roth...

Stretch RMDs and Roth Conversions: Today’s Slott Report Mailbag

By Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Question: Hello Ed, I have been a fan of yours for a long time (and the owner of a copy of The Retirement Savings Time Bomb) and have always appreciated your insights. We have a client who is age 58 years and is the sole beneficiary of a...

The Crazy-Complicated 2026 SIMPLE IRA Plan Elective Deferral Limits

Ian Berger, JD IRA Analyst Since 2002, SIMPLE IRA plans have allowed employees who reach age 50 or older by the end of the year to make “catch-up contributions” beyond the usual elective deferral limit. Beginning in 2024, Congress automatically increased the regular...

Who Needs to Take a 2025 RMD?

By Sarah Brenner, JD Director of Retirement Education As the calendar runs out on 2025, retirement account owners and beneficiaries may face a looming deadline. December 31 is the deadline for many to take 2025 required minimum distributions (RMDs). Test your...

The Slott Report Gives Thanks

By Andy Ives, CFP®, AIF® IRA Analyst Thanksgiving Season is upon us! Here at The Slott Report, we are thankful for many things: We are thankful to have a platform to share all the important IRA and retirement account information about which we write. We are thankful...