Miscellaneous Retirement Plan Issues

Miscellaneous Retirement Plan Issues

Where to find money to put into your retirement account

Marriage and retirement plan benefits

Can you put too much into retirement accounts?

Retirement accounts and personal bankruptcy

Where to find money to put into your retirement account

The best way to fund retirement accounts is through automatic transfers from your paycheck into your retirement account

You might want to consider borrowing money to fund your IRA or other retirement account if you can pay the loan off within a few months

Because of immediate tax savings, borrowing might make sense

The IRS has ruled that interest used to fund an IRA contribution is deductible on Schedule A as investment interest

Marriage and retirement plan benefits

A qualified domestic relations order determines how retirement benefits are divided in the event of a divorce

When receiving pension benefits, the beneficiary must receive the written permission of the spouse when electing to receive a single-life annuity

A single-life annuity provides higher payments, but the payments end when the beneficiary dies

Other options allow the surviving spouse to receive payments for the rest of his/her life

Both spouses must sign documents when one of them attempts to borrow against their retirement account

Can you put too much into retirement accounts?

If you withdraw more than $155,000 from a retirement account in a single year, you will be hit with a 15 percent surtax

1996 tax law change temporarily repealed this provision for three years

Retirement accounts and personal bankruptcy

Retirement accounts enjoy much greater protection than other assets in the case of personal bankruptcy