Tag: IRA
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Early Withdrawal IRA Rules for Senior Citizens
I had a reader Wallace send in this question: What is the law regarding premature IRA CD withdrawals by senior citizens without penalty? Wallace, The law regarding premature IRA withdrawals depends on the type of IRA you have. If you have a Roth IRA, you can withdraw your principal without penalty as long as it’s…
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Naming Beneficiaries on Retirement Plans
Every retirement plan you own has a spot for you to designate a beneficiary. It seems like a simple problem right? Just pick someone you trust and everything will be okay. Couples name their spouse, singles name their parents or their children, everyone can think of at least one person they’d want to leave their…
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Should You Invest In A Non-Matching 401K?
My wife works at a relatively small startup-type company that has a 401(k) plan but offers no employer match. One of the things I had researched was whether it was a good idea to put funds towards a 401(k) plan or if other options were better for her and broke it down to several considerations.…
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Retirement Account Catch-Up Rules
Catching up is hard to do, unless you’re talking retirement savings and you have the power of the US Government behind you. The contribution limits for various retirement accounts are increased if you are over the age of 50 and you can use them to your advantage if you didn’t contribute as much in your…
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TradeKing.com IRA Review
TradeKing.com is one of the leaders in the online discount broker business with their $4.95 market and limit equity trades and $4.95 option trades (+65 cents per contract). It was named Smart Money #1 Discount Broker in both 2006 and 2007 and likely will win for 2008 as well. It is comforting to know that…
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Sharebuilder IRA Account Review
Sharebuilder, owned by is one of the best online banks, is a popular broker that has offered a handsome new account promotional bonus for as long as I can remember (current bonuses run in the $50 range). This begs the question, would they make a good place to hold your IRA’s? Sharebuilder made a name…
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Contributing to a Non-Deductible Traditional IRA
If you earn over a certain amount, the Roth IRA option isn’t available to you, you’re left to go after the Traditional IRA. If you participate in a 401(k), you can’t even deduct the contributions to a Traditional IRA. So, why would anyone ever contribute to a non-deductible Traditional IRA? If you did, you’d be…
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Spousal IRA Explained
If you’re a stay at home mom or dad, you can make a deductible IRA contribution (or non-deductible if you opt for a Roth) of up to $5,000 for 2008 if you file a joint return and your working partner/spouse has enough earned income to cover the contribution. That’s right, even if you don’t personally…
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Last Minute Tax Retirement Moves
It’s April 14th, tomorrow is tax filing day, have you made all your contributions for 2007? Now’s your last chance! IRA Contributions You have until April 15th of the following year to make contributions for that tax year, so you have until April 15th, 2008 to make your contributions to a 2007 IRA. If you…