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The Tax Bomb In Your Retirement Accounts: How The Roth IRA Can Help You Avoid It:
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Roth IRAs, which are tax-advantaged retirement accounts, have long been used as a savings vehicle. However, did you know that they can also be used for estate planning purposes? According to investment company Vanguard, using a Roth IRA for estate planning can be a wise move.
First, it’s important to understand how Roth IRAs work. Contributions to Roth IRAs are made with after-tax dollars, which means that the money grows tax-free and can be withdrawn tax-free in retirement. Additionally, there are no required minimum distributions (RMDs) for Roth IRAs, which means that the account can continue to grow for as long as the account owner lives.
When it comes to estate planning, Roth IRAs can be a valuable tool because they allow for tax-free withdrawals by beneficiaries. This means that if the Roth IRA is left to a beneficiary, they can withdraw the money tax-free, which can be a significant savings.
There are several ways to incorporate a Roth IRA into an estate plan. One option is to name a trust as the beneficiary of the Roth IRA. This can provide additional asset protection and control over how the money is distributed to beneficiaries.
Another option is to use a Roth IRA to fund a charitable remainder trust (CRT). With a CRT, the Roth IRA assets are transferred to the trust, which then pays out income to the account owner for a specified period of time. At the end of the trust term, the remaining assets are distributed to a designated charity. This can provide a tax-efficient way to support a favorite charity while also receiving income during the account owner’s lifetime.
Finally, it’s important to note that Roth IRA assets are not subject to income tax or estate tax when they are transferred to beneficiaries. This can be a significant savings compared to traditional IRAs, which are subject to income tax and estate tax when they are distributed to beneficiaries.
Overall, using a Roth IRA for estate planning can provide valuable tax benefits and financial flexibility. If you’re considering incorporating a Roth IRA into your estate plan, be sure to consult with a financial advisor or estate planning attorney to ensure that you’re taking full advantage of all the benefits that these accounts have to offer.
Josh, just purchased your 3rd book, Strategic Money Planning. Maybe your course Can I Retire will walk me through my question?
My wife and I have Roth accounts and other investments through a company which charges fees. Do you have a book or course that will explain how to move from fee based investments into say Vanguard no fee investments?
The person we are currently using is a friend from our church and I think the company she works for does a great job but the fees are expensive. I've been very good about saving and working long hours, but not so good about researching and understanding investing.
@Josh — Is your MBTI type ESTP?
Interesting as I kind of got the push back by Vanguard advisor about conversion…got that deep gut feeling that wanting to manage larger trad IRA fund balance :-)…I pushed back with advisor and had to lay out my logic of at least do a smaller yearly conversion at current tax level now which will be higher when I have to take RMDs. After reviewing with internal Vanguard CPA came back and said agree …I am not only looking at pass on inheritance but also use of some of funds in RMD periods in case I want to give gifts to family and or make a larger purchase without loading up my tax load. Will do while in lower income period. Wishing I had put more in Roth IRAs my last few years when working but was looking for current tax reductions because of high income levels while working.
This is part of our strategy. We are converting large amounts annually over about 15 years from our IRA into ROTH-IRAs and paying the taxes out of pocket now (the exclusive plan). If we didn't convert, there would be large 401k and IRA tax bombs at RMD age that would permanently push us up one tax bracket, a second bracket for a surviving spouse. That would be really costly if tax rates increase over the next ~30 years (which we think is almost a certainty) and we hadn't converted.
The ROTHs will be the last account tapped, though odds are low we will need any of that money unless major medical or nursing care expenses hit us. But if not, then our kids will inherit all and have been told to let it compound the full 10 years to maximize these accounts.
That should provide them with significant retirement funds as well as the ability to save them from difficult times should SS be reduced. Only one child has a pension plan, but it is a very small amount so I consider our ROTHs as an insurance policy for our generation and theirs.
This is a terrific refresher, and ties in with your video about NOT shackling your retirement accounts to the estate/will! Transfer should be done via beneficiary designation. (Don't forget to assign a secondary beneficiary too.) Good stuff, Josh. You cover all the nuances so important to financial/estate planning.
Having 5 children who are all very successful. I am doing them no favor by leaving them a lot of money in my IRA. What i will leave them is what I have in my Roth and leave my wife my IRA.