Important Concepts and Planning Issues
Retirement account planning map
IRA versus employer plan terminology
Contribution rules versus deduction rules versus distribution rules
Roles of the advisor, custodian, employer, tax professional, and attorney
Traditional and Roth IRA contributions
Compensation requirements and spousal IRA rules
Active-participant status and deductibility
Roth income eligibility and filing-status restrictions
Contribution deadlines, extensions, and year designation
Nondeductible basis and Form 8606
How basis is created and tracked
IRA aggregation
Pro rata taxation and the December 31 measurement
Correcting missed or inaccurate basis reporting
Excess contributions and corrections
Return of contribution
Application to a later year
Recharacterization of eligible contributions
Excise tax exposure and reporting
Continuing Case Application
The couple determines which contributions each spouse may make, whether a contribution is deductible, and how prior nondeductible contributions affect basis.
Advisor Tools
IRA contribution eligibility and deductibility matrix
Client contribution-documentation checklist
Session Close
Three rules participants should remember
Three mistakes advisors should recognize
One client file or workflow participants should review immediately
Preview of the next stage in the retirement account lifecycle
Important Concepts and Planning Issues
The rollover decision
Fees, investments, services, and account consolidation
Creditor protection and access to plan loans
Age-55 separation-from-service exception
QCD eligibility, RMD treatment, and beneficiary flexibility
Employer stock and net unrealized appreciation recognition
Movement methods and limitations
Trustee-to-trustee transfers
Direct and indirect rollovers
60-day rollover rule
One-rollover-per-year limitation
Required withholding and eligible rollover distributions
Special rollover issues
Pretax and after-tax plan sources
Designated Roth account rollovers
Plan loan offsets
RMD amounts included in attempted rollovers
Partial rollovers and custodian reporting
Roth conversions
Taxable amount and pro rata calculation
Conversion timing and bracket management
Withholding and estimated-tax planning
IRMAA, Social Security, capital gains, and state tax interactions
No recharacterization of completed conversions
Roth five-year rules
Qualified Roth IRA distributions
Separate conversion penalty periods
Designated Roth account differences and rollovers
Backdoor and Mega Backdoor Roth strategies
Existing IRA balances and aggregation
Possible IRA-to-plan rollovers
Plan provisions required for voluntary after-tax contributions
In-service distribution or in-plan conversion mechanics
Testing, reporting, and operational limitations
Error correction
Late rollovers and self-certification
Ineligible rollovers
Wrong receiving account
Custodian coding errors
When a private letter ruling or tax correction may be required
Continuing Case Application
The couple evaluates whether to retain the 401(k), roll it to an IRA, preserve employer stock for possible NUA treatment, move after-tax plan money strategically, complete partial Roth conversions, and evaluate the feasibility of a Backdoor Roth strategy.
Advisor Tools
Rollover recommendation checklist
Roth five-year rule comparison chart
Session Close
Three rules participants should remember
Three mistakes advisors should recognize
One client file or workflow participants should review immediately
Preview of the next stage in the retirement account lifecycle
Important Concepts and Planning Issues
Distribution taxation and ordering
Traditional IRA distributions with and without basis
Roth IRA ordering rules
Rollovers from Designated Roth accounts
Forms 1099-R, 5498, 8606, and 5329
Early-distribution additional tax
Exceptions available to IRAs, employer plans, or both
Age-55 separation-from-service rule
Disability, medical, education, first-home, unemployment, and other exceptions
Newer statutory exceptions and documentation
Substantially equal periodic payments under Section 72(t)
Required minimum distributions
Applicable beginning ages and required beginning date
First-year deferral and still-working exception
IRA versus employer plan aggregation
More-than-5% owner rule
Year-of-death RMD
In-kind distributions and annuity considerations
Missed RMD corrections and excise-tax relief
Qualified charitable distributions
Eligible accounts, age requirements, and direct-transfer rules
Eligible and ineligible charities
RMD coordination and reporting
QCDs compared with itemized deductions and gifts of appreciated assets
Deductible IRA contributions after age 70½ and related limitations
Tax-efficient withdrawal sequencing
Pretax, Roth, and taxable account coordination
Bracket filling and capital-gain management
Social Security taxation and Medicare IRMAA
State income taxes and charitable goals
Using IRA withholding as part of estimated-tax planning
Continuing Case Application
The couple develops a multiyear distribution strategy covering Roth conversions before RMD age, charitable giving through QCDs, Social Security timing, Medicare premium exposure, and a correction plan for a missed RMD discovered during the review.
Advisor Tools
Distribution tax-treatment comparison chart
Early-distribution exception matrix
Session Close
Three rules participants should remember
Three mistakes advisors should recognize
One client file or workflow participants should review immediately
Preview of the next stage in the retirement account lifecycle
Important Concepts and Planning Issues
Beneficiary decision framework
Date of death and required beginning date
Account type and beneficiary identity
Designated, eligible designated, and non-designated beneficiaries
Separate-account treatment and beneficiary determination deadlines
Surviving spouse options
Treating the account as the spouse’s own
Spousal rollover
Remaining a beneficiary of the inherited account
Age and penalty considerations
RMD timing and successor beneficiary consequences
Special surviving-spouse elections
Nonspouse beneficiaries and the 10-year rule
Death before versus after the required beginning date
When annual distributions may be required
Withdrawal timing and tax-bracket management
Inherited Roth IRA considerations
Transfer rules and prohibited rollovers
Trusts as beneficiaries
See-through trust requirements
Conduit versus accumulation trusts
Documentation and identifiable-beneficiary rules
Disabled and chronically ill beneficiaries
Applicable multi-beneficiary trusts
Trust tax brackets and drafting-versus-administration risks
Other beneficiary situations
Estates and no-beneficiary outcomes
Charitable beneficiaries and mixed beneficiary groups
Minor children
Disabled or chronically ill individuals
Successor beneficiaries
Disclaimers, divorce, remarriage, and beneficiary form conflicts
Post-death administration
Year-of-death RMD responsibility
Retitling inherited accounts
Separate accounts and division timing
Custodian procedures and reporting
Beneficiary audits and documentation
Continuing Case Application
After one spouse dies, the surviving spouse compares inherited-account treatment with an own-IRA rollover. The family then evaluates distribution strategies for adult children, a trust for a disabled relative, a charitable beneficiary, and successor beneficiaries if an heir dies before the inherited account is fully distributed.
Advisor Tools
Surviving spouse options checklist
Post-death administration checklist
Session Close
Three rules participants should remember
Three mistakes advisors should recognize
One client file or workflow participants should review immediately
Preview of the next stage in the retirement account lifecycle