Minimum Required Distributions
Minimum Required Distributions
As complex as the rules for retirement contributions are, the rules for distributions are infinitely more complex. Many experienced estate attorneys, CPAs, trust officers, and investment advisers have stumbled over these rules, resulting in costly and unpleasant consequences for their clients. In her book, Life and Death Planning for Retirement Benefits, Natalie Choate explains that calculating the numbers correctly is “tricky.” She was also gracious enough to compliment Mr. Ely, our principal advisor, on his “expertise in both numbers and retirement benefit matters.”
Our Software
Developing an efficient and effective retirement distribution plan is both an art and a science. For the science of distributions we use proprietary software, developed by Mr. Ely. The software has been reviewed in numerous publications, including Morningstar Advisor, Investment Advisor, Accounting Today, and WebCPA. It has also been recognized in books written by Natalie Choate and by Ed Slott.
Our Plans
Our plans and advice are geared toward compliance with the minimum required distribution laws. However, proper planning is much more than being technically correct. A good plan not only avoids tax penalties but also takes advantage of tax avoidance and tax deferral strategies. Up to 50% of a retirement plan’s assets can be lost to tax penalties, but even more than that amount can be lost by not maximizing the tax benefits allowed by law.
Our Retirement Plan Services
Our firm provides advice to individuals, attorneys, CPAs, and pension administrators regarding the distribution and preservation of retirement plan assets. We construct plans to avoid the distribution traps, as well as help unwary individuals who have been caught up in those traps. We specialize in managing IRA rollovers and inherited IRAs, in addition to managing pension assets. For our on-going management clients, the distribution advice and planning is included with our investment management services.