Ask Liz Weston

Get smart with your money

Retirement Savings

Q&A: Roth IRAs and taxes

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Dear Liz: I sold some stocks from a Roth IRA to pay for some bad debts. Is this going to count as taxable income for this year?

Answer: You can always withdraw the amount you contributed to a Roth IRA without owing income taxes or penalties. For example, if you withdrew $10,000 but your contributions over the years totaled $10,000 or more, then you didn’t incur taxes or penalties.

You also won’t have tax issues if you withdrew more than your contributions but are 59½ and have had the account for at least five years. If you’re old enough but haven’t had the account long enough, you’ll pay income taxes but not penalties on the part of the withdrawal that exceeded your contributions — in other words, on the earnings.

If you’re under 59½, you could be subject to taxes and penalties on any earnings you withdrew. Please consult a tax pro for details.

Q&A: IRA investments and minimum distributions

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Dear Liz: I have an IRA invested in stocks, bonds and Treasury bonds. I’m 60 now and am hoping to retire in a few years. When I stop work and start pulling money from my IRA, can I withdraw a security or Treasury bond? Or must I first sell the security or Treasury bond, and then withdraw cash? I ask because I’ve recently purchased 30-year Treasury bonds (as well as Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, or TIPS). Once required minimum distributions kick in, I’d prefer not to sell a Treasury bond or TIP, if I don’t have to.

Answer: First, you should know that you have several years before your first required minimum distributions will be due. Because you were born after 1959, the age at which you’re required to start taking minimum distributions from most retirement accounts is 75. (The RMD age used to be 72, but it’s currently 73 for those born between 1951 and 1959 and 75 for those born in 1960 and later.) You can take penalty-free distributions from retirement accounts as early as age 59½, but the increase in RMD age can be advantageous for good savers who don’t need the money and want to allow their tax-deferred retirement funds to continue growing.

Most people take their required distributions in cash, but you’re allowed to take them “in kind” — in other words, you can transfer your stocks and other investments from your retirement account to a taxable brokerage account.

There’s no tax advantage to in-kind transfers and they can be tricky because the value of investments can change day to day, unlike cash, said Mark Luscombe, principal analyst for Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting. If the investments’ value on the day of distribution is less than your RMD, you’ll need to make up the difference in cash to avoid penalties.

Q&A: Don’t try evading Roth IRA requirements

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Dear Liz: My son is a student. He would like to maximize his Roth IRA at the annual $7,000 limit and has the money in savings to do so. However, his income from odd jobs, paid in cash, will probably be less than the $7,000 required to make this maximum contribution. Can he report additional income on his income tax beyond what he earned, pay the associated additional income taxes and thus meet the $7,000 income requirement?

Answer: Your son’s enthusiasm for retirement savings is commendable, but filing fraudulent tax returns is not. He can’t contribute more than he legitimately earns.

Q&A: You might have unclaimed retirement benefits. How to find them

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Dear Liz: My wife recently received from the Social Security Administration a notice of “Potential Private Retirement Benefit Information.” It cites a 401(k) account with a previous employer with a relatively small balance and states the “year reported” as 1992. My wife does not have any recollection of ever cashing out this account. Should the account still be accessible or are 401(k) accounts subject to abandoned property laws?

Answer: Keep in mind that many small accounts in that era were simply cashed out. The company sent the departing worker a check with a certain amount withheld for taxes, and that was that.

Still, even a small account could have grown substantially in the meantime, so it’s worth trying to find out if it might still exist somewhere. A couple of places to check first would be the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits, which allows you to search using your Social Security number. Another site to check for missing money of all sorts is the National Assn. of Unclaimed Property Administrators.

If nothing turns up, your wife should try to find the plan’s administrator. If she has any old statements or paperwork from the plan, the administrator or plan provider would be listed. If not, and her former employer is still in business, she can call the human resources department to find out what company administered the plan.

If that doesn’t work, her next stop would be the Department of Labor’s efast system to look for the plan’s Form 5500. Employee benefit plans have to file these annual reports and include contact information. FreeErisa is another site to check for Forms 5500.

Q&A: Retirement benefits and taxes

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Dear Liz: We are just getting to the age where mandatory distributions from our retirement accounts have to start. We don’t need the additional cash as we have great pensions. If we convert to Roth IRAs, will the amount in the Roth be subject to minimum deductions going forward? Will our heir have to pay any taxes on the money in the Roth account when inherited? Can we count the amount converted to the Roth account against the mandatory required distribution? I do understand that all the money will be taxed as income when coming out of the retirement accounts.

Answer: Required minimum distributions and Roth conversions have to be separate transactions. Conversions can’t count against your RMDs, and you’re not allowed to put an RMD into a Roth.

Any money you convert to a Roth would, however, reduce future RMDs, since Roths aren’t subject to mandatory distributions. Your heirs wouldn’t pay taxes on inherited Roth accounts, either, although they would be required to drain those accounts within 10 years.

Plus, you’re increasing your pool of tax-free money. This could be especially helpful for whichever of you survives the other, because after the year of death, the survivor probably won’t be able to file as “married filing jointly” anymore and would be subject to less favorable single taxpayer status.

Consult a tax pro, however. Roth conversions can push you into a higher tax bracket and increase your Medicare premiums. A “laddered” approach, or a series of partial Roth conversions over several years, may be advisable.

Q&A: Pensions and Social Security benefits

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Dear Liz: I am a teacher getting ready to retire. I have been collecting a spousal benefit from my husband’s Social Security. My understanding is that once I start collecting my pension, I will be subject to the windfall elimination provision. Is there a way to continue to collect against my husband’s Social Security, which is greater than my own Social Security benefit?

Answer: Because you will be receiving a pension from a job that didn’t pay into Social Security, you’re subject to two provisions: the windfall elimination provision, which can reduce but not eliminate your own Social Security benefit, and the government pension offset, which can reduce or eliminate any spousal or survivor benefit.

If the GPO wipes out your spousal benefit, you may still get at least a portion of your own benefit. Claiming strategy sites such as Maximize My Social Security and Social Security Solutions could help you estimate the effect of those provisions.