In the recent case of Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings and Investment Plan et al.,1 the U.S. Supreme Court again confirmed its longstanding policy that qualified retirement plans (QRPs) must be administered in accordance with the...

Advisors recommending Roth IRA conversions had better be prepared to answer these questions from clients: For years, you've told me that I should postpone income taxes on my retirement plan as long as possible. Now, you tell me I should do a Roth...

Experienced estate-planning practitioners know that the promise of the stretch IRA to prolong the account's tax-deferred or tax-free status thereby allowing its assets to grow often is thwarted if a trust isn't used to guard against beneficiaries...

In 2009, only individuals with a modified adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less are allowed to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. But this income restriction is eliminated in 2010. So, the question becomes, Do you want a Roth IRA? To...

The year 2010 marks the first time that wealthy individuals will have easy access to a Roth IRA. Although they still won't be able to make contributions to a Roth IRA if their adjusted gross income (AGI) is too high, there will no longer be an...

Internal Revenue Code Section 408(a) defines an IRA as a trust. . . for the exclusive benefit of an individual or his beneficiaries. But Section 408(h) permits a custodial IRA to be treated as an IRA for purposes of Section 4081 and the Treasury...

Do you have clients who want guaranteed income, but are reluctant to sign onto an annuity that pledges underlying assets to an insurance company? New hybrid products, known as “Stand Alone Living Benefits (SALBs)” combine an annuity...

In business succession and estate planning involving a closely held business, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) should be one of the prime planning alternatives considered. Unfortunately, they rarely are. That's probably because ESOPs are...

When a trust is to be the recipient of retirement plan assets and you want it to benefit from stretch-out, you're going to need to qualify that trust as a “see-through trust.”