The War on Stretch IRAs is Back

There long has been a group in Congress determined to end the Stretch IRA, and this year they seem intent to have their way. I’ve reported in the past few years that many in Washington were targeting the Stretch IRA. The Obama administration called for an end to this valuable estate planning tool in its annual budgets. A bipartisan group in Congress agreed, and it appears that group is growing.

Their latest vehicles are two retirement bills working their way through Congress. The version in the House of Representatives is called “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement” (the SECURE Act). The Senate version is titled “Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act” (RESA). The bills have a number of provisions, many beneficial to retirees and pre-retirees.

One goal is to give more workers, especially small business employees, access to employer retirement plans. Small businesses would receive a credit of up to $500 annually to defray the start-up costs of some retirement plans. Also, long-time part-time workers would be allowed to contribute to their employers’ plans.

Make the Insurance Companies Pay

One quarter of the Baby Boom generation expects to work until they die...

For Americans ages 46-55, having enough money to retire is among their most pressing worries.

As a medical doctor, I can tell you that if you’re relatively healthy right now and a nonsmoker, you could live a lot longer than the averages. How long? It’s impossible to say. There are just too many variables. And that leads to important questions:

1. How do you ensure you won’t run out of money if you don’t know how long you’ll need it?
2. How can you be certain you’ll have enough money to last for your retirement?

That’s why I’m going to lift the veil on one of the most misunderstood secrets of the wealthy... annuities.