Spring Into IRA Season

April is just around the corner, meaning the season for individual retirement accounts is at its peak.  If you haven’t already, now is a good time to open an account and get started on saving.  Contribution limits remain at $5,500 in 2015 with an additional $1,000 allowed for those 50 and over.  You can still make a 2014 contribution up until April 15. 

In the past, you could withdraw money out of your account and do whatever you wished with no income tax consequences, as long as the money went back to the original IRA or another IRA within 60 days.  Now, you can only do this once every 365 days.  Thus, if you have multiple IRAs and plan to do a rollover from more than one account, you should consult your financial advisor to ensure you do not break any rules. 

Another IRA update concerns inherited accounts. Although retirement accounts are typically exempt from creditors, last year the Supreme Court held that IRAs left to non-spousal beneficiaries do not have creditor protection.  Implications of the rule vary, but if your heirs are responsible with their money the rule will likely have little impact on you. 

IRAs offer many advantages to retirement savers and is important to make sure you manage existing accounts to their fullest potential.   

See Roger Wohlner, IRAs: New Rules, Old Strategies, USA Today, March 22, 2015.