The Retirement Savings Time Bomb. and How to Defuse It: A Five-Step Action Plan for Protecting Your Iras, 401(k)S, and Other Retirement Plans from Near Annihilation by the Taxman

Explains, in layman's terms, the complexities of tax codes governing retirement savings and offers strategies for protecting and making the most of one's assets.

As if the stock market hadn’t been bad enough lately, sinking and taking the nation’s retirement funds along with it, now IRA expert Slott has news of an additional nightmare: the IRS is eager to take a monstrous chunk out of whatever’s left. Slott asserts the importance of recognizing what he calls playing the back nine, or understanding that however much you’ve saved over the years, it won’t matter much if you haven’t protected it from the taxman. Indeed, the author shares the story of one schoolteacher whose heroic efforts to stash away $1.2 million for her two children went for naught when the IRS claimed all but $150,000 for each child. A few of Slott’s prescriptions: take your required distributions so you don’t get hit with additional taxes; buy life insurance to offset the estate taxes that will bite into your IRA upon your death; and take advantage of the Roth IRA, which hands you your money tax-free upon retirement. Though 401(k)s, IRAs and taxes in general are notoriously complicated subjects, Slott distills the morass of information into useful strategies while striking a note that’s alarmist enough to scare anyone with a retirement fund.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

As if the income tax code wasn't confusing enough, the tax law that governs the distribution of retirement accounts is even more incomprehensible. Our IRA or 401(k) accounts are often our most valuable asset, yet most people just assume these funds will be there when they're needed. But ignoring this part of your life could mean a costly loss to you or your beneficiaries, as a multitude of taxes could strip up to 90 percent of your retirement funds if some precautions are not taken. Slott is a real tax wizard, and has managed to decipher the code that lawmakers have thrown at us, where "to simplify" really means "to complicate." He spells out in fairly understandable terms the repercussions of IRA rollovers, Required Minimum Distributions, insurance, "Stretch IRAs," the "Death Tax," and other oh-so-boring yet absolutely essential information that can keep us legally one step ahead of the taxman. After taking these simple steps now to protect your wealth, keep this volume as a handy reference whenever major life changes occur that could affect your finances. David Siegfried
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