The Book Desk 11 stories this week · 107 total

Ed Slott's IRAHelp explainer: contributions come out of the consolidated Roth IRA before a cent of conversion basis does.

The tool applies the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, so the higher starting age and fresh life expectancy tables show up as one withdrawal figure clients can plan around.

Ed Slott's compounding math shows why the new account is worth opening years before earned income arrives.

A second IRA distribution can be converted to a Roth instead of rolled back, as long as the receiving custodian's Form 5498 codes it as a conversion.

The IRS's look-through test decides whether an inherited IRA in a trust gets 10 years or five, and a single non-person beneficiary can scuttle even a qualifying trust.

The same retirement dollar can be fully shielded from one creditor and exposed to another, depending on the plan and the state.

In 2026, the traditional IRA deduction for an uncovered spouse phases out between $242,000 and $252,000 of modified adjusted gross income. Box 13 on the W-2 decides who qualifies.

The SECURE Act deadline applies to Roth accounts, and trusts do not make the transfer simpler.

Taxable Trump account withdrawals and conversions can trigger the kiddie tax from age 18, so advisors should start modeling the exposure.

Ed Slott's mailbag walks through the per-conversion penalty clock and the shared earnings clock, then applies the same distinction to Trump accounts at 18.

Solo 401(k) plans miss the still-working break. One beneficiary's withdrawal can settle a mother's final RMD.

A Neal-Wyden proposal would cut off new IRA contributions above $10 million in combined balances and eventually force minimum distributions from the largest accounts.

A voluntary electronic process under SECURE 2.0 would move retirement money straight to the receiving plan.

Advisors should price the extra working year as a chance to fix cash flow, cut sequence risk, and reset next-generation expectations.

The Tax Foundation's constitutional analysis gives advisors a specific legal risk to discuss with clients before the November vote.

Advisors get their first concrete look at how employers can contribute — and where the plan can go wrong.

The dispute gives advisors a concrete opening to raise liquidity and domicile questions with founder clients who are wealthy on paper.

The great wealth transfer will be won in the couple meeting, where the out-spouse often sits quietly.

Roughly 4 million Part D beneficiaries qualify for Medicare-covered weight-loss drugs at $50 a month. The program ends in 2027.

The will says who gets what. The beneficiary form says who actually gets it. When they disagree, the form wins.

Introduce financial independence, sabbaticals, Coast FIRE, and semi-retirement early, and the default exit date becomes a deliberate choice.

Kitces & Carl episode 196: feelings belong in the plan, not just the spreadsheet.

A Kitces.com guest post separates the endowment effect into loss aversion, identity, and anchoring. Logic won't cure any of them.