Estate: Your Questions Answered - Can You Stretch A 401K? By: Jeffery Voudrie A reader recently asked if his 401(k) could be rolled over, by his beneficiary, to a 'stretch' IRA after his death. Read on to discover an answer that will protect your beneficiaries from tens of thousands of dollars in unnecessary taxes and keep your gift to them alive for generations to come. Whether or not your beneficiary can rollover your 401(k) at your death (and subsequently stretch it) depends on who your beneficiary is and the terms associated with your company plan. Basically, you usually can't stretch a 401(k) account directly, but if that money is rolled into an IRA, you can. This is a situation where the details matter. Let's assume for the sake of illustration that you have a wife and 3 children. If your spouse is the beneficiary, she can roll the money from your 401(k) to her own IRA. Assuming that she has named the 3 children as beneficiaries of her IRA, they would have the ability to stretch it at her death. ('Stretching' an IRA refers to the ability for a beneficiary to take distributions based on their life expectancy instead of all at once.) Ideally, she would divide the money into 3 IRAs and name one child as the beneficiary for each one. That allows each child to stretch the IRA over their life expectancy. If the 3 children are the beneficiaries of 1 IRA then it would be stretched based on the oldest beneficiary's life expectancy. On the other hand, if your children are the beneficiaries of your 401(k) plan they may or may not be able to stretch it. Let me explain. The tax laws allow for beneficiaries to stretch out distributions, but most company retirement plans do not permit it. The reason is simple--the stretch can take place over decades. If the company allowed that, then they would be responsible for all the administration. There isn't any benefit to the company to do so while it exposes them to potential liability. Instead, most company plans will cash out the beneficiaries at the death of the employee. At best, the beneficiaries may be able to stretch it out over 5 years. Realize what this means. Let's say you have $600,000 in your 401(k). If your wife is the beneficiary, she can roll it to her own IRA and then when she dies, the children can stretch it. If a child is in their 50's, that means that taxes can continue to be deferred (except for the annual required distribution) for almost 30 years. $200,000 can literally grow to millions of dollars over 30 years. If those children were the beneficiaries of your 401(k) instead and were cashed out at your death, they would not have the ability to roll that money to an IRA. They would have to pay taxes on all of that money in the year it was distributed. In our example, each of your three children would have to claim $200,000 in ordinary income that year! This would bump each child's tax bracket and could result in 35% of it being lost in taxes. That's a tax bill of $70,000 each, or a total of $210,000 in taxes on your $600,000 nest egg. Even if you have your wife as the primary beneficiary of your 401(k) and your children as the contingent beneficiaries, you are opening up the possibility of the children not being able to stretch distributions. If your wife passes away before you, or you both die in an accident, the 401(k) money would go to the children and most likely be distributed immediately. There really aren't any benefits to keeping your retirement money in a 401(k) after you retire, but several big disadvantages. All of this is easily avoided by simply rolling that money to your own IRA. Your investment options will be much greater, and so will your flexibility and control. I love to personally answer readers' questions. If you'd like free, unbiased advice submit your questions to www.guardingyourwealth.com/askjeff.htm. Read answers to questions other readers have asked on the Q&A page at www.guardingyourwealth.com. SPECIAL REPORT: Has this 'Investment From Hell' been recommended to you by your advisor? I hope not! This complimentary 47-page Special Report is jam-packed with solid information you need to know to protect yourself. This report could save you and your loved ones tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars. To get your copy just click here: http://www.guardingyourwealth.com/SpecialReports/GeneralEIA.htm Mr. Voudrie is a Certified Financial Planner, nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and President of Legacy Planning Group, Inc., a Private Wealth Management Firm in Johnson City, TN. He can be reached toll-free at 1-877-827-1463 or at jeff@guardingyourwealth.com. Nationally-syndicated financial columnist and Certified Financial Planner® Jeffrey Voudrie provides personal, in-depth money management services and advice to select private clients throughout the USA. He'll answer your financial question - FREE at www.guardingyourwealth.com.

 

Who Should  Start A Roth 401k?

1.   You're relatively young and plan to keep the money invested for a long time.

2.   You're in a low tax bracket today, or feel that tax rates will be higher in the future.

3.   You've always wanted to contribute to a Roth IRA, but your income has consistently been too high for you to put money into one.

4.   You want your heirs to keep as much of the money they inherit from you as possible, since they won't owe income taxes on distributions received from Roth 401k accounts. (However, the amount they inherit from you might be less since you've paid higher taxes in years you contributed to a Roth 401k).

You don't rely on the tax savings realized on your current contributions to your Roth 401k or 403b account to meet your household budget.

 

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