How to Pay Less Taxes on your RMDs (Required Minimum Distributions from IRA) and what is a QLAC? by Natalie Choate

Age 70 1/2: Think Through Your RMD Choices

Buying a qualified longevity annuity and tactically timing the first RMD could reduce the tax hit.

Natalie Choate, 05/08/2015

In 2015, we are looking at planning ideas for different life stages. This month: The year the IRA owner reaches age 70 1/2. 

The year the IRA owner reaches age 70 1/2 is his or her first "distribution year." It's the first year for which there is a required distribution. Unlike with later years, however, the IRA owner gets a one-time special break in the age 70 1/2 year: The minimum distribution for that year is not required to be taken until April 1 of the following year. In all other years for which there is a required minimum distribution, or RMD, it must be taken by Dec. 31 of the distribution year. 

If the client's income is still "too high," and he or she doesn't want or need to take the RMD to pay living expenses, continue to look for ways to reduce the RMD, such as rolling into an employer plan if still working, Roth conversions, or purchasing a qualified longevity annuity (QLAC), discussed below. (This tactic could also be used in years prior to the age 70 1/2 year.) 

Buy a QLAC?A longevity annuity is an annuity contract that does not start paying you until you reach age 85. It eventually pays you a life income, but the income does not start until that later age, meaning that your investment (if made when you are many years younger than 85) has many years to accumulate and grow, so the income you eventually get will be larger. The purpose is to insure against "living too long"--outliving your income. 

Normally such delayed annuities are not "legal" investments for IRAs, because the minimum distribution rules require IRA-owned annuities to start paying out no later than age 70 1/2. 

But the IRS has made an exception to permit IRAs to purchase "qualified" longevity annuities (QLACs) with up to $125,000 of the IRA balance, or 25% of the IRA owner's total IRA balance if less. When the QLAC is purchased, the purchase price and value of the QLAC cease to be counted as part of the IRA balance for purposes of computing the IRA's annual RMD, beginning the year after the year of the purchase.

Suki Example: Suki is turning age 70 1/2 and age 71 in 2015. She plans to keep working (and therefore expects to continue to be in a high tax bracket) for at least another five years. Her projections show she will have a comfortable income even after retirement, though if she lives to a very old age, it could become questionable. She finds a QLAC that will pay her a good income starting at age 85, in about 15 years. She buys it inside her IRA for $125,000. By removing $125,000 from her account value "base" in 2015, this move will reduce her next year's IRA RMD (i.e., 2016) by $4,883, saving her about $1,900 of income taxes that year. Equivalent savings will accrue each year thereafter until the QLAC starts paying out. If the contract makes sense for her, the tax savings is a nice little bonus. Of course her income (and taxes) will go up when she reaches age 85 and starts collecting on the QLAC, but she won't be working then (she figures), so she won't mind the taxable income as much. 

You can also buy a QLAC in your IRA earlier or later than the year you reach age 70 1/2. The earlier you buy it, the longer your $125,000 investment has to accumulate and thus reduce your RMDs pre-age 85 by an even larger amount. The longer you wait to buy it, the less of a good deal it is and the less value it has for reducing RMDs. 

Take the RMD This Year or Next Year?Since you have a choice, which is better? Take the age 70 1/2 year RMD in the age 70 1/2 year? Or postpone it until the age 71 1/2 year? Despite a magazine article that said "never postpone the first year's RMD!" this is actually something that needs to be decided on a case-by-case basis. 

In a few cases, the choice will be easy. 

Don't postpone the first year's RMD if…Someone who needs the age 70 1/2 year distribution to pay immediate living expenses will obviously not postpone. A person who is in a more or less steady income tax bracket, but whose RMDs are large enough that bunching two of them into one year would push him into a higher bracket in the age 71 1/2 year, should presumably not postpone. Postponement will not be possible if the participant desires to do a rollover or conversion from the plan in 2015: The RMD must be distributed before the account can distribute money for a rollover or conversion. 

Do postpone the first year's RMD if… Someone is still working and earning a high income, but plans to retire later in the age 70 1/2 year, so expects to have a substantially lower income next year. Someone who is leaving his entire IRA to charity will probably postpone, since if he happens to die before taking the RMD that is just a little more money that will go the charity at his death income tax-free. Anyone who wants to maximize the amount of the IRA that will pass to her beneficiaries upon death should postpone taking the RMD as long as possible, in case he or she dies prior to the postponed distribution deadline. 

The close cases…For others, the choice is not so easy. A client who expects to be in the same bracket next year as this year might decide based on personal preference: "Jack" takes his RMD early in his age 70 1/2 year, to "get it over with." His sister "Jill" postpones because, even though it looks like her bracket will be just as high next year as it is this year, you never know--she might get lucky and be really poor next year after all, making postponement profitable. 

The person who thinks that postponing is always a good idea because you defer the taxes a little longer should remember that postponing actually increases the amount of the second year's RMD … because the age 70 1/2 year RMD that you did not take in the age 70 1/2 year is still part of the account balance at the end of the year! 

One thing is sure: Postponing the RMD to the age 71 1/2 year creates complications. If the first year's RMD is postponed, two RMDs are required in the second year, and the two RMDs in the second year will have different deadlines, be based on different account balances, and use different divisors! 

Bernie Example: Bernie turns age 70 1/2 in 2015, so 2015 is the first distribution year for his IRA. To calculate the 2015 RMD, he uses the 2014 year-end account balance and the Uniform Lifetime Table divisor for the age he attains on his 2015 birthday, which will be 70 if he was born before July 1, or 71 if he was born after June 30. He can take the 2015 RMD at any time from Jan. 1, 2015, through April 1, 2016. There will then beanother RMD for the year 2016, which must be taken between Jan. 1, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2016. The 2016 RMD will be based on the Dec. 31, 2015, account balance and will use the Uniform Lifetime Table factor applicable for the age he attains on his 2016 birthday. 

Resources: See Natalie Choate's book Life and Death Planning for Retirement Benefits(7th ed. 2011) for full details on the required beginning date and the first distribution year. The book is available as a paperbound "real" book at http://www.ataxplan.com/ or in an electronic (online) edition by subscription athttp://www.retirementbenefitsplanning.com/.

Inherited IRA Tips (Forbes Magazine)

http://onforb.es/13LhpwX

Inherited IRA Rules: What You Need To Know

Many people who inherit IRAs are unfamiliar with the rules that apply to them. My article for Forbes magazine, “Five Rules For Inherited IRAs,” gives a broad overview of the subject. In this post I answer questions from two readers with concerns that affect other people, too.

Michael Twersky, a 26-year-old consultant in New York, asks:

I inherited a $15,000 traditional IRA from my father. As a child beneficiary, will I avoid income tax upon withdrawal if I wait until I’m 60? If not, would it be better to withdraw now while I’m still in a pretty low tax bracket?

You don’t have the option of waiting until you are 60 to take withdrawals. Generally, non-spousal IRA heirs must withdraw a minimum amount each year, starting by Dec. 31 of the year after the IRA owner died. Note: This is true whether it’s a traditional IRA or a Roth (a common misconception).

To calculate this distribution, you take the balance on Dec. 31 of the previous year and divide it by the inheritor’s life expectancy, as listed in the IRS’ “Single Life Expectancy” table. (You can find the table in IRS Publication 590, “Individual RetirementArrangements (IRAs),” which downloads here as a PDF.) Unless the account is a Roth, there is income tax on this required payout.

Don’t make the mistake, as some people do, of using the number from the table to figure a percentage. In subsequent years, you simply take the number you used in the first year and reduce it by one before doing the division.

If they choose to, IRA inheritors can draw out these minimum required distributions over their own expected life spans, as explained here. This is known as the stretch-out – a financial strategy to extend the tax advantages of an IRA. Stretching out the IRA gives the funds extra years and potentially decades of income-tax deferred growth in a traditional IRA or tax-free growth in a Roth IRA. This is a wonderful investment opportunity.

If you weren’t aware of the minimum distribution requirement and have not taken the required withdrawals, see my post, “What Happens When IRA Inheritors Miss A Key Deadline.”

6/09/2010 @ 6:00PM

Five Rules For Inherited IRAs

Before they inherited $3 million in retirement accounts from their father last year, the three middle-aged siblings didn’t know it was possible for heirs to stretch out the tax benefits of such accounts for decades. But what they also discovered after his death is that doing this is tricky–and in some cases impossible–if the original owner of the accounts didn’t fill out his beneficiary forms just so. Although their 78-year-old dad was a lawyer, “He may never have realized that it made any difference,” says a daughter, who has spent days trying to sort it all out.

Whether you’re inheriting an IRA or aiming to protect your own heirs, you’ve got to dance the IRS jig.

1. First, do no harm.

If you inherit a retirement account, don’t do anything until you know exactly what rules apply. With your own IRA you can take the money out and redeposit it in another IRA within 60 days without penalty. Not so an inherited IRA. All movement of money must be from one IRA custodian to another–be sure to specify a “trustee-to-trustee” transfer. Moreover, unless you’ve inherited from a spouse, you must retitle the IRA, including the original owner’s name and indicating it is inherited, e.g., “Daddy Warbucks, deceased, inherited IRA for the benefit of Little Orphan Annie, beneficiary.”

If two or more people are named as beneficiaries, ask the custodian to split it into separate inherited IRAs. That avoids investment squabbles and allows a longer stretch-out for the younger heirs.

2. Beneficiary forms rule.

The beneficiary form on file with the custodian of an IRA controls both who inherits it and its ability to be stretched out. If people other than a spouse are named as heirs, they must begin taking distributions from the account by Dec. 31 of the year after inheriting, but they can draw these out over their own expected life spans, enjoying decades of income-tax-deferred growth in a traditional IRA or tax-free growth in a Roth IRA. To give your heirs maximum flexibility, name both primary and alternate individual beneficiaries–say, your spouse as primary and kids as alternates or your kids as primary and grandkids as alternates. Your primary beneficiary then has the option of “disclaiming” or turning down the account, enabling it to pass to the younger alternate.

By contrast, if an estate is named as beneficiary, tax deferral is cut short. If it’s a Roth IRA, all funds must be withdrawn within five years. For a traditional IRA the same rule applies unless the former owner was already 70 1/2–the age at which a traditional IRA owner must begin cashing out. In that case the distribution rate for the heir is based on the age of the person who died, notes Rockville Centre, N.Y. CPA Edward Slott.

What if there’s no beneficiary form on file? Heirs are at the mercy of the IRA custodian’s default policy. Vanguard Group and Ameriprise award an IRA first to a living spouse and then to the estate. Merrill Lynch sends it straight to the estate. Few custodians will pass on an IRA directly to the kids without a beneficiary form.

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3. Employer plans are different.

By federal law the money in a 401(k) goes to a spouse, unless he or she has signed a form waiving rights to it. But some employer plans will allow the funds to go straight to the kids if no spouse is living and no beneficiary form is on file. On the other hand, employers usually won’t let nonspouse beneficiaries stretch out 401(k) withdrawals. These beneficiaries should ask the employer to transfer the money into an inherited IRA. They can then divide it into separate inherited iras, says Natalie B. Choate, a lawyer with Nutter McClennen & Fish in Boston.

4. Spouses have more options.

A spouse who inherits–let’s assume it’s the wife–has an option not available to other inheritors. She can roll the assets into her own IRA and postpone distributions from a traditional IRA until she turns 70 1/2. The catch is, like other IRA owners she may have to pay a 10% early-withdrawal penalty if she takes money before age 59 1/2 from her own IRA. So a young widow should generally wait until after reaching 59 1/2 to do the rollover, says Brooklyn, N.Y. CPA Barry C. Picker. Meanwhile, she doesn’t have to take out any money until her late spouse would have turned 70 1/2.

5. Watch for distribution traps.

If the late IRA owner was 70 1/2 or older, beneficiaries must make sure the owner’s mandatory distribution for the year of death is withdrawn before doing anything else. When nonspouse beneficiaries take their own payouts, they should be aware of two quirks. First, if the estate paid estate tax, they may be able to take an itemized deduction to offset some IRA income. Second, the minimum is calculated differently than for your own IRA. You take the balance on Dec. 31 of the previous year and divide it by your life expectancy listed in the IRS’ “single life expectancy” table, rather than the table used by IRA owners. The next year you use the same life expectancy, minus a year. (With your own IRA, you take a new life expectancy from a table each year.)

What NOT To Do When You Retire ( U S News )

New Retirees: Avoid These Mistakes

Don’t make these errors when transitioning into retirement

By Emily Brandon

September 24, 2012 

It can be difficult to know when you are truly ready to retire. Even if you are relatively certain you have enough savings to last the rest of your life, there is still plenty that could go wrong. Here are some potential mistakes to avoid as you transition into retirement:
Moving to a place where you don't know anyone. Once you're no longer tied to a job, it's tempting to move to a location with better weather or more fun things to do. In some cases, you can even significantly reduce your retirement expenses by moving to a place with more affordable housing and a lower cost of living. But moving away from your friends and family and your support system of associates, including everything from a great dentist to a car mechanic you can trust, can be detrimental to your retirement. It's difficult to start from scratch and can take years to build a network of people who can help when you need it.


Quitting before you are vested in your retirement plan. You may not get to keep all of your employer's 401(k) contributions, stock options, or qualify for traditional pension payouts until you are fully vested in the retirement plan. Before you turn in your letter of resignation, look up the exact date you will become fully vested in the plan. If it's a matter of weeks or months, sticking around until you qualify for more lucrative retirement benefits could significantly improve your retirement finances. "If you are close to an anniversary date or if you have any stock options that are about to vest, you don't want to leave right before you are about to vest and lose out on money," says Laura Barnett Lion, a certified financial planner and president of Barnett Financial in Austin, Texas.

Retiring before you set up health insurance. Medicare coverage begins at age 65. If you want to retire before then, you'll need to find alternative health insurance coverage. Some employers offer retiree health insurance plans to former employees. If your company had at least 20 employees, you can also buy back into your former employer's group health insurance plan using COBRA continuation coverage, typically for up to 18 months. Other health insurance options for early retirees include joining a spouse's health plan, purchasing individual insurance, and seeing if you qualify for state insurance pools. Some organizations you belong to or part-time jobs may also provide health insurance. "If you are younger than 65 and you are retiring from a company plan, you want to pay special attention if you have any health issues," says Christopher Rhim, a certified financial planner for Green View Advisors in Washington, D.C. and Norwich, Vt. "Know what your benefits are and compare this to any new plan under consideration." Beginning in 2014, young retirees will be able to purchase health insurance through insurance exchanges, with tax credits for those with low and moderate incomes.

Thinking your health will hold out forever. Many new retirees are healthy and energetic, but it's important to plan for a day when you may not be. Proximity to medical care becomes increasingly important as you age. You also need to think about the possibility that you might require long-term care or extra household help from caregivers or family members. It's a good idea to put your medical requests in writing, and designate someone to make medical decisions for you if you cannot.

Taking Social Security too soon. You can sign up for Social Security beginning at age 62, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should. If you elect to begin receiving payments at 62, you will receive lower monthly payments than you would if you waited until an older age. "If you are retiring before your full retirement age, which is 66 for most baby boomers, and you are planning on taking Social Security before 66 at a discount, that can have a substantial negative impact on your retirement finances," says Terry Seaton, a certified financial planner for Seaton Financial Advisors in St. Augustine, Fla. "You can wait even after 66 up to 70, and it increases each year." Monthly Social Security payouts grow for each month you delay claiming up until age 70.

Forgetting to take required minimum distributions. Withdrawals from 401(k)s and IRAs become required after age 70½. People who fail to withdraw the correct amount will face a 50 percent tax penalty in additional to the regular income tax due on the amount that should have been withdrawn.


Spending too much on travel and new hobbies. Some expenses will decrease in retirement, such as commuting costs and workplace attire. But new costs may take their place or even surpass them. Travel costs can become a huge new retirement expense, and some new hobbies might also come with significant costs. Some retirees end up spending more on entertainment simply because they now have more time for it. You may find yourself dining out more to get out of the house or connect with other people. "When you have time on your hands, most people are fairly creative in finding ways to spend money. They play more golf and they go see the grandkids more often," says Seaton. "Find out how you want to spend your time in retirement, and find out what it's going to cost you."

 

Go ahead and enjoy!