IRAs, 401(k)S & Other Retirement Plans: Taking Your Money Out

by Twila Slesnick and John C. Suttle

Book Overview

Take cash out of your retirement plan while avoiding taxes and penalties If you have a retirement plan, IRAs, 401(k)s & Other Retirement Plans is your comprehensive guide on taking money out of it.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1413319025
• ISBN13: 9781413319026
• Release Date: June 2013
• Publisher: NOLO
• Length: 372 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Pay attention to the sub-title

The reviewer plugging the "MarketBuster" book has totally missed the point of this NOLO book, which is given in the subtitle: Taking Your Money Out. The reviewer is talking about strategies for growing your account. When you're in the savings/growing mode you're in a whole different situation than you're in when you're having to withdraw and/or live off your account. Going from one to the other requires a major change in strategy and, more important, a MAJOR change in mindset and, often, life style. You're confronted with a whole new set of regulations, whether the reason for the change is retirement, inheriting an account, etc. The biggest change in mindset is that instead of the pleasant pre-retirement situation of watching the money accumulate, you have to recognize that you're now going to be watching it DECLINE. And unless you've got a tremendously more than sufficient account, you're going to have to live with the knowledge that you could outlive the account, possibly due to your own mistakes, some of which this book can help you avoid. Four years ago I was confronted with making this shift a whole lot sooner than I'd planned, and with getting control of my retirement accounts under conditions where I had little help. Without the previous edition of this NOLO book, I would have been totally lost and probably made serious mistakes. Now, one caveat: This book does not tell you how to MANAGE your withdrawals and account so as to produce INCOME; as one should expect from NOLO press as a LEGAL advice publishing house, it deals with the nuts, bolts, traps and hazards of the PROCESS of getting the money out. In my situation I also found that there is not a whole lot of good material out there on the subject of managing your money and account IN the WITHDRAWAL stage, and this subject is affecting more and more people, as the country shifts from defined benefit (pensions) plans to plans like 401Ks and IRAs that place the job of investing and managing on the individual. It is a whole lot more complex, risky, and stressful than most people realize, especially considering the general abysmal education (lack of) even young people receive on the subject, let alone people my age who were raised to count on pensions, etc. (And thank goodness for Social Security, which while far from adequate, can still supply a firm base of about 30 to 50% of a retirement income; although that's another issue) So I recommend this book as essential for the basic procedures, but you will also need additional information on how to manage your income account(s). Personally, in addition to a good fee based financial planner, I found invaluable help from folks who have actually been doing the job for years, especially in the forums of Morningstar, for example. But you have to be on constant alert for scamsters and the whole "how to be a billionaire" publishing crowd. You're going to have to invest some serious time and effort in educating yourself for a the whole new jo

Good Reference Work for a "Taxing" Subject

IRS rules for withdrawing money from IRAs are pretty complicated. This book, like others from Nolo Press, offers very specific coverage of these rules. I was looking for information on how IRAs can relate to Living Trusts, and I found it here. You have to pay attention, but the book is written in easy-to-understand English as opposed to legalese.

Be Careful. Table S on Page A/30 is outdated

One important area of the tax law has changed since this book was last revised in October 1998. Table S on Page A/30 has been revised for the year 2000 by the IRS -- make sure you get a copy of the updated table. Or see if the Nolo Press offers a newly revised edition.Everything else is great -- 5 stars

Single Best Resource Book on Retirement Plan Distributions

In my career, I work almost exclusively with retirees, and I have found this book to be the best resource for Retirement Distributions. It explains the rules in a concise manner, and includes the special rules for Roth IRAs. This is an especially good reference book for advisors because it goes in depth- not just the basics.

Thorough coverage for the tax professional. Easy to use.

I do taxes. I have been a "tax professional," working for a reputable CPA firm, for eighteen years.I imagine that most people think that we always read the most obscure laws, regulations and treatises on tax subjects before we make our decisions and recommendations. The fact is that most professionals are delighted to find publications which make good information easy to find. This book does that. "How to Take Your Money Out" gives thorough coverage to a very complicated subject. Equally important is that it is almost enjoyable to read and that finding what you are looking for is easy. It is well organized and well indexed. When I looked for answers, I found them, on the first shot.There are plenty of people, both professionals and taxpayers, who are wondering what to do about IRA and other retirement plan distributions. Having this book on the shelf will give you confidence that you'll know where to look when you need the answers.