The Roth IRA is a beauty. Everyone should be buying these beasts. By the time you're done reading this, you will know the primary benefits.
A Roth IRA is bought with income that has already been taxed. You can write this off in the year you pay those taxes. The genius of the Roth IRA is that you don’t pay tax ever again. You don’t pay tax on the growth or the withdrawal. This is a wonderful long-term investment plan.
What you don’t know, because you aren’t paid to know, is that there are a whole host of ancillary benefits that ride the coattails of these beauties.
So, if the first reason to buy an IRA isn’t enough, here are some of the other beautiful features of this beast.
First, your traditional retirement plan is subject to Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs).
When you get up to seventy and half years old, you have to take distributions and you have to take tax on them from traditional IRA’s. Roth IRA’s can just keep growing. Maybe you remember my friend Randy. He’s making enough money off of his fishing business that he’d just as soon leave his money in the bank. He can keep accruing growth for a dream vacation, or to leave a nest egg for his family.
A surviving spouse can keep feeding a Roth IRA or combine it with an existing Roth IRA. You cannot do this with a traditional IRA account. A non-spouse beneficiary cannot continue to grow the account, but they can delay the Required Minimum Distributions. For five years, they can ride those tax-free returns. As a second option, you can choose a lifetime expectancy distribution. Setting aside the morbid reality that this requires you to consider your own mortality, this will provide the best option for a non-spouse beneficiary who wants to keep as much money as possible in the Roth IRA where it will continue to grow tax-free.
Finally, Roth IRA owners are not subject to the 10% early withdrawal that is comprised of contributions or conversions. Randy, because he’s a genius, took care of his money early. When he hit fifty-six it was time to go fishing. He never took the ten percent hit because he planned for his early retirement with a Roth IRA.
Randy couldn’t touch his growth or earnings if he wanted to avoid the taxman. He had to wait five years for the conversions, but he took a lot of investment capital out, tax free, then reinvested it in a new business to further insulate him against the government’s sticky fingers.
There are definitely some requirements to qualify for an Roth IRA, but you can convert existing funds and get started right away.
Let your money grow in a Roth IRA. Be a beast, and your retirement will be a beauty.
If you're considering going the Roth route, get a professional opinion. Schedule your personal retirement consultation today.
Scott Royal Smith is an asset protection attorney and long-time real estate investor. He's on a mission to help fellow investors free their time, protect their assets, and create lasting wealth.
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