Retirement Savers Get a Boost – IRA Contribution Limits Increased for 2019.

There is good news for those of you who are actively saving for retirement. The IRA contribution limit, presently $5,500 for 2018, will increase to $6,000 for 2019. If you are age 50 or older in 2019, you can add an additional $1,000 to your IRA, for a total contribution of $7,000 for 2019. The increase applies to both traditional and Roth IRAs. This increase applies to contributions for the 2019 tax year, not for contributions made in 2019 for the 2018 tax year.  Non-working spouses may also benefit by making contributions to their own IRAs to boost retirement savings.

The increase is the result of cost-of-living adjustments made recently by the IRS to retirement account limits. This increase is the first since 2013!

Don’t forget, other IRA eligibility rules still apply. You must have earned income to contribute to an IRA. Generally, earned income is income from employment. Investment income and Social Security income is excluded. Furthermore, there are income limits that will affect your ability to make a fully deductible contribution to a traditional IRA. Your income may be too high to contribute to a Roth IRA. Finally, you cannot make a contribution to a traditional IRA in 2019 if you will be age 70½ or older.

For those of you participating in an employer sponsored 401(k) or 403(b) plan, the limit for salary deferrals into those types of plans will go up to $19,000 in 2019 ($25,000 if you are age 50 or older).

You can see all of the COLA increases for retirement accounts and other retirement related items HERE.

Having trouble putting together a retirement plan, or looking for ways to boost retirement savings?  Give me a call, I can help.

Costly IRA Rollover Mistake – Easily Made; Impossible to Fix.

The rules governing IRA accounts are maddeningly complex, especially the rules for inherited IRAs. I was working with a client on an issue involving the control of an inherited IRA account when I was reminded of a case that shows just how easy it is to make a mistake that cannot be fixed.

Mrs. Beech was the adult beneficiary of her deceased mother’s traditional IRA. The account was managed by a professional money management firm, Citi Smith Barney. Citi made two distributions to Mrs. Beech from the IRA – one for $2,828, and the second for $35,358. The larger distribution was made on May 23, 2008, and the check was made out to Mrs. Beech.

Mrs. Beech deposited the $35,358 into the inherited IRA with American Funds in June 2008. Mrs. Beech reported both distributions on her 2008 income tax return, and reported the smaller $2,828 amount as the taxable amount of the distribution. Thereafter, the IRS issued Mrs. Beech a notice of deficiency for income taxes due in the amount of $9,212 for the $35,358 distribution, plus penalties in the amount of $1,842. The deficiency and penalties were sustained by the United States Tax Court.

Wait a second! Mrs. Beech deposited the distribution check for $35,358 into a new inherited IRA account well within 60 days from the date the check was issued by Citi. What did she do wrong?

Amounts paid or distributed from a traditional IRA are generally includible in gross income by the recipient payee. The Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) provides that a distribution is not includible in gross income if the entire amount of the distribution received by an individual is redeposited into a qualified IRA for the benefit of that individual within 60 days of the distribution. This redeposit is known as a “rollover contribution.”

However, rollover treatment is not available to a non-spouse beneficiary in the case of an inherited IRA. Any distribution from an inherited IRA is taxable if the distribution is paid to a non-spouse beneficiary. Under the Code, an IRA is treated as inherited if the individual for whose benefit the account or annuity is maintained acquired that account by reason of the death of another individual who was not his or her spouse.

In Mrs. Beech’s case, the $35,358 was paid from her mother’s IRA to Mrs. Beech as the named beneficiary. She then redeposited the funds into an inherited IRA account. Since the IRA account belonged to Mrs. Beech’s mother, it was deemed to be an inherited IRA for the benefit of Mrs. Beech and, therefore, rollover treatment was not available for the distribution.  The entire $35,358 distribution was taxable income to Mrs. Beech!

Mrs. Beech would not have been treated as having received a taxable distribution from an IRA, however, if the funds in the IRA were transferred directly from Citi to American Funds without her ever gaining control or use of the funds. This is commonly known as a “trustee-to-trustee transfer.”
A trustee-to-trustee transfer is the only way for the beneficiary of an inherited IRA to make a nontaxable transfer of funds in the IRA account.

What makes a case like Mrs. Beech’s so difficult is that there is no way in the Code for the mistake to be corrected. Once Citi issued the check, it became taxable income. Neither the tax court nor the Internal Revenue Service could grant Mrs. Beech any relief from the income taxes and penalties incurred for her mistake.

The lesson from Mrs. Beech’s mistake is that in every case where a non-spouse is the beneficiary of an IRA, a transfer should only be made via the trustee-to-trustee method to avoid income taxation of the transferred amount.

The case of Beech v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue can be read here.

IRA rules and regulations are extremely complex and costly mistakes can be easily made.  If you need help navigating the IRA rules and regulations, call me, I can help.

Year-End IRA Housekeeping

The end of the year is fast approaching, and with it several important deadlines for IRA account owners and beneficiaries. In my experience helping clients address year-end IRA matters, the following are the most problematic areas:

Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Deadline:

December 31 is the deadline for taking RMDs from an IRA for an account owner who reached age 70½ before 2018. The RMD has to be withdrawn from the account before January 1. The account owner cannot merely request a distribution before year end. RMDs not withdrawn from the account are assessed a 50% penalty, in addition to regular income taxes. If you haven’t taken all of your RMDs yet for 2018, make sure you take them in time to avoid the 50% penalty.

RMDs for a Deceased IRA Owner:

If an IRA owner died in 2018 before all of his RMDs were taken for the year, the remaining RMDs must be paid to the account beneficiary before the end of 2018. This is not a pro-rated amount. The RMDs are calculated for the full year. This can often times be overlooked especially if the IRA owner died late in the calendar year. Undistributed RMDs from a decedent’s IRA are subject to the 50% penalty on missed distributions.

RMDs for Inherited Traditional IRAs or Roth IRAs:

A non-spouse beneficiary of an inherited IRA can elect to take annual RMDs over their remaining life expectancy. If they do, the first RMD distribution must be taken before December 31 of the year following the year of the IRA owner’s death, and then each year thereafter over their remaining life expectancy. If you are the beneficiary of an inherited IRA, you too must take an RMD before the end of 2018 if the account owner died in 2017 or earlier. Undistributed RMDs from an inherited IRA are also subject to the 50% penalty on missed distributions. This applies to the beneficiaries of Roth IRA accounts too. While a Roth IRA owner does not have to take distributions from a Roth IRA at any time, beneficiaries are subject to the same RMD rules as beneficiaries of traditional IRAs. So don’t get caught thinking you don’t have to take distributions from an inherited Roth IRA. You do!

Splitting Inherited Traditional IRAs or Roth IRAs:

If there are multiple beneficiaries of a traditional or Roth IRA account whose owner died in 2017, the account must be split into separate accounts for each beneficiary before December 31 of 2018. This is to ensure that each beneficiary gets to use his own life expectancy in determining annual RMDs for his share of the account. If the account is not split and the RMD taken before the end of 2018, the life expectancy of the oldest beneficiary will be used to calculate the annual RMDs for all of the beneficiaries. This results in younger beneficiaries paying more income taxes each year on their distribution from the account.

No “Still Working” Exception for Older and Still Working IRA Owners:

There is no “still working” exception to the RMD rules for traditional IRA owners who are still employed beyond age 70½. While an owner of a 401(k) account may work beyond age 70½ and delay RMDs from his 401(k) account while his employment continues, that same employee must take RMDs from his traditional IRA if he reached age 70½ before 2018. This includes owners of SEP-IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs.

While not exhaustive, these are the most common areas where mistakes are made.  Even if you’ve taken your RMDs for 2018, it won’t hurt to go back and review your situation and your math to avoid any negative consequences from unrealized errors.

The rules governing required distributions from IRAs are extremely complex.  The penalties for making a mistake can be severe.  If you need help navigating the year-end complexities of managing IRA distributions, please contact me.  I can help.

Should Have Put A Ring On It.

Pellie was in a long term relationship with Tony that lasted over 40 years. They never married. Pellie became Tony’s caretaker when his health began to fail. Tony died in 2015. Pellie had received about $300,000 in assets from Tony up to and after his death. But Pellie believed she was entitled to much, much more. After Tony’s death, Pellie filed a claim against Tony’s trust for over $2,700,000 based upon Tony’s purported promises to take care of her. The trustee disallowed the claim. Pellie sued the trust in probate court, claiming that she and Tony had an agreement that he would take care of her after his death.

At the trial, the evidence showed that over the course of their relationship, Tony had often told here that he wanted her to take care of him and in return he would take care of her needs. Tony had verbally told Pellie that she would share in his estate. Tony’s estate plan did provide some stock and other assets to Pellie, including four bank accounts owned jointly with Pellie.

The county probate court dismissed Pellie’s lawsuit. The probate court reasoned that Tony’s promises were, in effect, a contract to make a will, and since it wasn’t in writing, the “agreement” wasn’t enforceable. Pellie appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the probate court decision.

Under Michigan law, a contract to make a will or devise, not to revoke a will or devise, or to die without a will (intestate) may only be established by either: a) provisions in a will stating the material terms of the contract; b) an express reference in a will to such a contract with extrinsic evidence proving the terms of the contract; or c) a writing signed by the deceased establishing the contract.

A party seeking to enforce such a contract must prove an actual express agreement and not merely a statement of intentions. Since Pellie could not produce a writing evidencing Tony’s agreement to provide her financial security after his death or to compensate her for caretaking services, she could not prevail.

It is pretty clear from the evidence that Tony made promises of care and support to Pellie. We don’t know why Tony didn’t adjust his estate plan to fulfill those promises; Nor do we know to whom Tony left the bulk of his assets.

Their’s was a 40 year relationship. However, without the benefit of marriage or a some type of written agreement, Pellie didn’t have a leg to stand on. Purely moral obligations are not enforceable. Had they been married, Pellie may have had claims to Tony’s assets.

When it comes to the distribution of a deceased person’s assets, oral promises or intentions aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. The moral of this story is that if you are in a relationship with another — without the benefit of marriage — you need to make sure to get any promises of financial support or security from your partner in writing.

The case is Norton-Cantrell v Anthony Bzura Trust Agreement.

You can read the Court of Appeals decision here.

Saving for College Off the FAFSA Radar

Many of my clients have a desire to incorporate a college savings component into their financial plans to help with their grandchildren’s college education expenses. In many cases, a 529 college savings account has already been set up for the grandchild by the parents, and the client would like to contribute to that account. Simple yes, but there is a better way.

First, any person who wants to save for a college education should consider using a 529 college savings plan. “529″ is the section of the Internal Revenue Code that makes tax-favored college savings accounts possible. Under section 529, funds contributed to a 529 account grow on a tax-deferred basis, and may be withdrawn tax-free if the funds are used to pay for qualified education expenses in the year the expenses are incurred.  “Qualified education expenses” include tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for the enrollment or attendance of the account beneficiary at an eligible educational institution (most colleges and universities, public or private).  A section 529 account may be set up by anyone who desires to save money for college expenses, including a grandparent for a grandchild.

A grandparent who sets up a 529 account for a grandchild gets the tax-advantaged savings, but there’s another benefit for the grandchild: Funds in a 529 account established by a grandparent will not affect the grandchild’s eligibility for student loans, grants, work/study programs, and even scholarships.

The vast majority of college bound students must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (“FAFSA”). The FAFSA identifies those assets that will be taken into account to determine a student’s financial aid eligibility. Financial aid eligibility is typically determined from the student and parents’ income and assets disclosed on the FAFSA (including 529 accounts established by the parent or student). Money contributed by a grandparent to a 529 account in the student’s name or in the parent’s name will be counted against the grandchild on the FAFSA.  Thus, the grandchild is penalized for the grandparent’s generosity.

However, the student’s FAFSA does not consider the assets of a grandparent. So, a grandparent may establish a 529 account in their name for a grandchild and the account is not reported on the grandchild’s FAFSA. The grandparent is able to put money away for a grandchild’s college education, without penalizing the grandchild.   In addition, the grandparent still controls the funds in the account. If the grandchild decides to not go to college or she receives substantial scholarship awards, the grandparent may substitute out one grandchild for another as the account beneficiary.

Each state must set up its own section 529 program, and nearly all the states have done so. But you can establish a 529 account in any state, not just the state of your residence. These programs are state-specific, and they have differing contribution limits, investment options, and costs. Some states (including Michigan) offer income tax benefits for their residents who use the Michigan 529 plan. So it pays to research carefully before opening a 529 account.

Are you thinking about setting aside money for your child or grandchild’s college education? Give me a call, I can help.

You Reached Age 70½ This Year, So When Must You Take Your First IRA Distribution?

We are approaching the end of the year and for many of you, 2017 is the first year you must begin taking a required minimum distribution from your traditional IRAs. As you may already know, the Internal Revenue Service rules require you to take a minimum distribution (known as “RMD”) from a traditional IRA each year once you reach age 70½. An RMD must be taken for the year in which you reach age 70½. The IRS rules allow you to delay that first RMD from your IRA to no later than April 1 following the year in which you reach age 70½. Thereafter, your annual RMD must be taken from the IRA no later than December 31. Let’s take a look at how these rules work in practice:

A client contacted me today with questions about taking the first RMD from his IRA. In my client’s case, he turned 70 in January of this year (2017). So he also reached age 70½ in 2017 (July). Under the applicable IRS rules, he must take an RMD for 2017 because that is the year he attained the age of 70½. While the ordinary deadline for taking the RMD from his IRA is December 31, he has the option of waiting to take the 2017 RMD until no later than April 1, 2018. There is a catch to waiting: He’ll also have to take an RMD for 2018 (before December 31, 2018), so he’ll have to take two distributions in 2018, one for his 2017 RMD and the second for the 2018 RMD. Doing so will increase his taxable income for 2018 resulting in a higher tax bill. To avoid this, he’ll have to take his 2017 RMD no later than December 31, 2017.  Fortunately, he still has time to decide whether to wait until 2018 to take the distribution.

To calculate his RMD, my client, like most IRA owners, will refer to the IRS uniform life expectancy table. To calculate his first RMD, he must also use the balance in the IRA as of December 31, 2016. He’ll use that balance even if he elects to defer taking his 2017 RMD until 2018 (remember, the distribution is for 2017). He’ll use the balance in the IRA as of December 31, 2017, to calculate his RMD for 2018.

If he fails to take his first RMD from the IRA before April 1, 2018 (or any subsequent RMD by the applicable December 31 deadline), the IRS will impose a penalty equal to 50% of the amount of the RMD that he should have taken out from his IRA for the year. Note, the RMD is the minimum that must be withdrawn from the IRA for the year, you can withdraw more than the RMD if you so choose.

The rules governing distributions from an IRA other other retirement account are extremely complex. Always work with a competent advisor.  If you are struggling with questions regarding retirement account distributions, give me a call, I can help.

The Pitfalls of DIY Estate Planning, Part ?

According to an article at news.com.au, a woman from Queensland, Australia died of cancer in 2015. In an apparent effort to save money on her estate plan, she chose to use a cheap do-it-yourself will kit. The four page document had numerous hand-written attachments and contained multiple changes. It is likely to end up costing her estate tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and costs to sift through the numerous errors and ambiguities contained in the document.

“‘No one should attempt their own will. It is very dangerous,’’’ barrister Caite Brewer, who represented the named executors of the will. “‘This case is a good example of someone trying to save a few hundred dollars, doing their own will, which ends up costing their estate potentially twenty thousand dollars. They should see a solicitor who specialises in estate planning.’”

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Will kits are advertised as the low cost estate planning alternative to using an attorney. The will-kit publishers advertise that you will end up with a will that is legal, but never advertise that it will be right. And that’s what you pay an attorney to do, to make sure the will is right – that it accurately expresses your intentions concerning the disposition of your estate. Yes, it costs more up front, but the extra money spent to make sure your estate plan is drafted correctly will save thousands in the long run.

Read the entire article here.

Struggling with your own estate planning? Contact me, I can help.

Want to Dip Into Your IRA to Pay College Education Expenses? Read This First!

It’s time to get back to school for you or a family member. You may be looking for a way to pay a tuition bill and other school expenses and considering taking money out of your IRA to do so. Ordinarily you have to be over age 59½ to take a penalty free, but taxable, withdrawal from an IRA. There are exceptions to this rule, and one of those exceptions allows for penalty free withdrawals to pay for certain higher education expenses, but you have to follow the rules!

1. You can take a penalty free – but taxable – withdrawal to pay for “qualified higher education expenses.” These expenses include tuition, room and board, required books, supplies, and fees. (Computer and other technology purchases qualify, even if not required by the school.) There is no dollar limit that can be taken out of the IRA account, as long as the money is used for qualified higher education expenses. (You should maintain a record of all paid expenses, including receipts.)

2. The qualified higher education expenses must be incurred at an “eligible educational institution.” An eligible educational institution is any college, university, vocational school or other post-secondary educational institution eligible to participate in the federal student aid program. This includes all accredited public, private, nonprofit and proprietary post-secondary institutions. Expenses related to elementary or high school, public or private, are not eligible.

3. The IRA distribution may be used for qualified education expenses of the IRA owner, the owner’s spouse, or any child or grandchild of the owner or the owner’s spouse.

4. The education expenses must be incurred in the year you take the IRA distribution. So, you can’t take a distribution from your IRA in 2018 to cover an expense incurred in 2017. This is an important rule that trips up a lot of people.

5. The exception to the early distribution penalty for higher education expenses only applies to distributions from your IRA account. The exception does not apply to distributions from an employer plan. [401(k), 403(b), etc.]

6. You can take a distribution from your IRA to pay eligible higher education expenses, but should you? That is the bigger issue here. Your IRA is not a piggy bank. That money is for your retirement. I generally do not recommend taking any preretirement distributions from any retirement account to pay expenses or a debt for a couple of reasons.  First, even though the distribution escapes the 10% early withdrawal penalty, income taxes must be paid on the entire distribution. Second,  you lose the advantage of the tax deferred growth on the funds withdrawn from the IRA.  You simply won’t make that up even if you are able to replace the funds withdrawn later on. If you have other options available to pay college expenses, you should explore them first, even loans, before taking a distribution from an IRA.

There are other exceptions to the 10% penalty on pre-age 59½ IRA distributions.  We’ll explore those in a future post.

Three Things Your College Bound Child Needs to Leave Behind

Do you have a child getting ready to head off to college?  Whether your child goes away to school or commutes from home, don’t let them start the school year without leaving behind these three documents:

Medical Power of Attorney.  If your child is over the age of 18, you no longer have the right to speak to their physicians, or make medical decisions for them.  If your child has an accident or becomes seriously ill at school and is hospitalized, medical personnel will not discuss your child’s medical condition or treatment with you without authorization. Have your child sign a medical power of attorney. Commonly referred to as a “patient advocate designation,” your child can appoint you to speak with doctors and make medical treatment decisions for them in the event they cannot do so themselves.

HIPAA Authorization.  Have your child sign a separate HIPAA authorization.   A medical power of attorney will only help you and your child if your child is incapacitated AND in a hospital or similar facility.  There may be situations where your child is either not incapacitated or is not hospitalized, but you still need to speak to medical providers on your child’s behalf regarding treatment he or she is receiving.  A HIPAA authorization will enable you to talk to them or obtain medical records and other information regarding your child’s medical condition.  You may not be able to make treatment decisions for your child, but you can at least monitor their care.  Remember, even though you are the parent, medical providers will not speak or release information to you without your child’s prior consent, regardless of your child’s medical condition.

Durable Power of Attorney. Finally, have your child sign a durable power of attorney. Parents of college students have all heard the privacy speech from school administrators – “Due to federal privacy regulations, we cannot discuss anything regarding your student without prior written authorization” – and they mean it. In order for you to discuss a tuition or dorm bill, dispute a lab fee, or discuss any of your child’s financial or other affairs with any third party, you need written authorization. That’s where the durable power of attorney comes in to play.

Under a durable power of attorney, your child can appoint you as their agent to handle their personal and financial and other non-medical affairs, whether they are incapacitated or not. Everything from banking and bill paying to tuition or room and board issues can be handled by you as your child’s agent. If your child becomes ill or has an accident while at school, as your child’s agent you will be able to keep their affairs in order until they regain the ability to do so.

Make sure you and your child are prepared for the coming school year by making sure they leave behind a medical power of attorney, HIPAA authorization, and durable power of attorney.  Good luck!

Does your student need these documents?  Give me a call.  I can help.