Roth IRA
A Roth IRA is a retirement savings vehicle like a 401K or traditional IRA. Roth refers to the legislative sponsor, and IRA stands for individual retirement account. Unlike a traditional IRA, your contributions to a Roth IRA are not tax deductible. However, the beauty of a Roth IRA is that you’re not stuck with a tax bill on your withdrawals. That includes the gains on your investments, as long as you are older than 59 ½ years and the Roth IRA has been opened for at five years. In short, a Roth IRA is a tax-advantaged form of wealth accumulation. First-time home buyers can pull out as much as $10,000 in profits, again without penalties or taxes, as long as the account has been in place for five or more years.
Income limits on Roth IRA conversions are set to go away in 2010. This opens-up an opportunity for many to benefit from the tax advantages associated with the Roth IRA. Conversion may also make sense as a hedge against the distinct possibility of tax increases and higher tax brackets for future retirees. That said, the Roth IRA also happens to be an enormously efficient vehicle if there is a bequest motive or desire to pass assets to heirs: "if you want to leave a legacy to your heirs, a Roth...
TIPRA and Roth IRA Conversions
The Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 ("TIPRA") will allow for the conversion of a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA regardless of income . This is meaningful information for many people who in the past had been prevented from converting to a Roth IRA because of income limits. In a very worthwhile article, MarketWatch columnist Robert Powell provides answers to twelve frequently asked questions surrounding Roth IRA conversions. Source: MarketWatch Full Story
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Skepticism Required with Roth IRA Calculators
A good article from Investment News on the use of calculators for Roth IRA conversion calculators. Deciding whether to convert to a Roth IRA is fairly complex. There are a number of variables that come into play such as tax rates, investment returns, inflation rates, etc. Faulty assumptions for any one of the factors will produce faulty results and possibly poor decisions. Free, web-based calculators are often less robust than those used by financial advisors. Calculators and other analytical...
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Vanguard
Short Company Name:
Vanguard
Long Company Name:
Vanguard
Company Type:
Asset Management
Web Site:
Phone Number:
877-662-7447
Year Founded:
1975
Glossary:
Ownership:
Private
Horace Mann
Short Company Name:
Horace Mann
Long Company Name:
Horace Mann
Company Type:
Insurance Company
Web Site:
Phone Number:
800-999-1030
Fax Number:
217-788-5161
Year Founded:
1945
Key Phrases:
Ticker Symbol:
HMN