Case Analyzer – Stretch IRA names Beneficiary

[Kathleen Reynolds]

#4072

This analysis allows you to compare the results of four options:

• Option 1: Where there is no designated beneficiary.
• Option 2: Where the assets are inherited by the account owner’s spouse, who treats the account as her own and the account is subsequently inherited by their children.
• Option 3: Where the assets are inherited by the children or grandchildren. No spouse beneficiary is included in this option. (Separate Accounts rule is applied.)
• Option 4: Where the assets are inherited by the children or grandchildren, and no separate accounting occurs, so the life expectancy of the oldest child is used. (Separate Accounts rule is not applied.)

Step 1: Select the Analysis

Check the “Stretch IRA Naming Beneficiary” option.

Step 2: General Inputs

• Names: Enter the name of the owner. There is a checkbox if you wish to include the spouse of the owner in the analysis.
• Birth Dates: Enter the birth date of the owner (and the spouse, if appropriate).
• Growth used for All Accounts: Enter the growth rate to be used for all accounts.

Note: If you have entered different rates or custom rates for the growth of the accounts, those rates will be replaced by the rate entered here when you press the Case Analyzer’s Calculate button.

• Retirement Plan Balance: Enter the Balance of the Retirement Plan.
• Spend Minimum Distributions Instead of Reinvesting Them? In order to make a reasonable assessment on the differences between (a) not converting and (b) converting, we need to consider what happens to required minimum distributions (RMD) amounts that are taken from the non-Roth account if no conversion is done. Check this box if your client will need the RMD amounts to cover living expenses. If the client will take the RMD amounts and keep it in a savings account, do not check this box.
• Apply Waiver of 2009 RMDs H.R. 7327, the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA) was signed into law on December 23, 2008 and provided that RMDs for IRAs and defined contribution plans were waived for 2009. As such, it is optional for individuals to take distributions from these retirement accounts. IRS issued Notice 2009-82, explaining that 2009 RMD amounts that were taken from these accounts can be rolled over. Check this box if the client did not take an RMD for 2009. Do not check the box if:
  • The RMD was taken and not rolled over, or
  • The rollover to the Roth is being made from a Defined Benefit plan, as RMDs were not waived for these plans.

Step 3: Beneficiaries

This step allows you to input information about any non-spouse beneficiaries of the client and is important in determining the net distribution amount if distributions are stretched over the life expectancies of these beneficiaries.

• • Check the “Include Non-spousal Beneficiaries” if the client has individuals who are named as beneficiaries of the account and are not the spouse of the client.
  • Check the “Use Multiple Beneficiaries after the Death of the Owner” if there are more than one non-spouse beneficiaries.
  • Check the “Apply Separate Accounts Rule” if there are multiple beneficiaries.
  • Input the names of the beneficiaries, the years in which they were born, and the percentage amount they are designated to receive. Ensure that the total amount adds up to 100%.

Step 4: Taxes

In this section, you provide information on the client’s adjusted gross income (AGI), the projected rate of inflation, and income tax. When calculating the client’s income tax, you have two options:

1. choosing to calculate the taxes using the client’s AGI, and
2. using specific tax rates which also allow you to change the client’s amount of tax exemptions and tax filing status, and choose between the marginal rate vs. average tax rate

Calculate taxes from an AGI

• If you choose this option, the software calculates the income tax based on the client’s AGI that you input, using tax rates provided by the IRS.
• From Year: ____ To Year: ____: Input the year in which the AGI begins, which is usually the current year, and the year that the AGI ends. If you are unsure of the final year in which the client will receive the income, you can have the software calculate the period by selecting “Calculate” and choosing an option from the drop-down menu. For this example, we assume that the AGI lasts from 2009 to 2065.
• Annual Growth of AGI: Input the growth rate for AGI.
• Check the “Use Inflation Rate for Tax Brackets:” box to use the inflation rate to adjust future AGI tax brackets.

 

Use Rates to calculate Taxes

• Using this option allows you to manually input the client’s income tax rates and change the number of exemptions.
• Clicking on the “Calculate” button allows you to choose the clients Filing Status, Number of Exemptions, and choose between the Average Tax Rate and Marginal Tax Rate. This is done for both the Normal Tax Rate and the tax rate During Conversion.

Inflation Rate: Input the projected inflation rate.

Step 5: Results

This is the final step in the Stretch IRA Naming Beneficiary Analysis. This provides a description of the scenarios that are included in the analysis.

If You Need to Make Changes: You can also go back to each step to review your data input by clicking on the “previous” button or by selecting the applicable tab at the top of your screen.

Your Analysis Reports

You have two reports from which to choose, a Short and Full report.

The Short report includes the following:

• Net Distributions Comparison
• Retirement Plan Analysis
• Retirement Plan Distributions to Heirs

The Full report includes all the Short reports, but also includes the following:

• Inputs Report
• Net Distributions
• Minimum Distributions
• Distributions Breakdown

Both options will always be available. As such, if the Short report is selected, the Full report can be chosen later and vice versa. The choice you make here will likely be determined by whether you want a quick snapshot of the analysis or if you want all the information that is included in the full report.

To View Your Reports, Click the “Calculate” button to see your reports.

 

 

 

[Author]

Posts