Retirement Planning/IRA Planning

We assist our clients with maximizing the net, after-tax values of their retirement benefits and IRAs. Much of this planning involves structuring withdrawals from the benefits and IRAs to ensure income during retirement. The planning also includes coordinating beneficiary designations for the retirement benefits and IRAs with the client's overall estate plan so that the benefits and IRAs flow to the intended beneficiaries with the least income taxation. 

Many of our clients use "stretch IRA" distributions for their benefits and IRAs after their deaths, and we help the beneficiaries create "inherited IRAs" for themselves to accomplish this result. Other clients use their retirement benefits and IRAs for charitable giving, either during their lives with "Charitable IRA Rollovers," or after their deaths by leaving part or all of their benefits and IRAs to charities. In addition, for clients who are marrying and have substantial balances in their qualified retirement benefits, we assist with obtaining waivers under the Retirement Equity Act (REA) from the new spouse to allow the clients to control their benefits after their deaths. Finally, for clients with employer securities in their qualified retirement plans, we assist with taking those employer securities out of the plan and using the "Net Unrealized Appreciation" (NUA) rules to dramatically reduce the tax burden on the distribution.