Guide to Avoiding Tax Traps for Beneficiary Distributions from IRAs and Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans

Program Name: Appleby’s Guide to Avoiding Tax Traps for Beneficiary Distributions from IRAs and Employer Sponsored Retirement Plans

Overview

The primary reason for saving in an IRA or employer plan account is tax deferral of earnings. Beneficiaries can continue to enjoy this benefit, within certain limitations. In order to do so, beneficiaries must understand the distribution options that are available to them and make sure that any election made or transaction processed does not result in unintended distributions, which would lead to loss of tax-deferral and other tax saving opportunities.

Tax professionals can provide retirement account owners and beneficiaries with the guidance needed to ensure the protection of available benefits.

Major Topics

• ·         What makes a beneficiary a designated beneficiary?
• ·         Planning strategies when there are multiple beneficiaries of a retirement account
• ·         The significance of beneficiary deadlines
• ·         Identifying and circumventing limitations under plan document and IRA agreements
• ·         Distribution, transfer and rollover options for spousal beneficiaries
• ·         Distribution, transfer and rollover options for non-spousal beneficiaries
• ·         Roth conversions for inherited accounts

Learning objectives

• ·         To be able to identify the different types of beneficiaries.
• ·         To understand the distribution options available to beneficiaries.
• ·         To understand the steps that account owners and beneficiaries need to take to preserve the stretch opportunities for multiple generations.
• ·         To understand the penalty that could apply when beneficiaries do not meet distribution deadlines, and when such penalty could be waived.
• To understand the transfer and rollover rules that apply to beneficiaries