Saturday, October 5, 2024

The Ultimate Guide to Roth Retirement Accounts: Why You Need One Now

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Are you familiar with Roth IRAs? If you’re not, you should be, because Roth IRAs are a great way to get tax-free income after you retire.

There is a potential fly in the ointment, however. Namely, not everyone qualifies for a Roth. If you make too much money, Uncle Sam says you can’t use ’em. But there’s a way around that rule: Fund a regular retirement account, then roll it over to a Roth. It’s called a backdoor Roth. Sounds sneaky, right? Should you do it? And if so, how do you go about it?

Let’s find out. In this podcast episode, we’re talking about how to convert an IRA to a Roth IRA without getting eaten alive by income taxes. In addition, we’ll be talking about nearly every facet of Roth accounts and why they should be an integral part of every retirement strategy.

Host Stacy Johnson is joined by financial journalist Miranda Marquit. Listening in and sometimes contributing is producer Aaron Freeman.

This week’s guest is Ed Slott, the founder of IRAhelp.com. He’s ready to tell us why a Roth conversion is his No. 1 tax tip for this year.

Before we start, remember this isn’t financial advice. So make sure to do your own research and consult your own experts before acting on anything you learn here.

You can download the episode wherever you get your podcasts:

Using an IRA for your retirement

We talk about individual retirement accounts (IRAs) in this episode. Here are some great resources on how to make the most of your IRA — whether you get a traditional or a Roth.

If you decide to do a Roth conversion, like our guest Ed suggests, make sure you know the rules. We recommend checking out Investopedia’s article “Roth IRA Conversion Rules.”

Learn more about retirement accounts

An IRA isn’t your only choice for retirement. There are different accounts and strategies you can use to make the most of your golden years. Here are some great resources for getting more out of retirement.

Meet this week’s guest, Ed Slott

Ed Slott
Courtesy of Ed Slott / Money Talks News

Ed Slott is a nationally recognized IRA distribution expert, television personality, and best-selling author who has dedicated his life to educating Americans on the intricacies of IRAs.  He was named “The Best Source for IRA Advice” by The Wall Street Journal. Slott is the author of numerous highly acclaimed books, including his latest, “The New Retirement Savings Time Bomb” (Penguin Random House, 2021) and “Ed Slott’s Retirement Decisions Guide: 2022 Edition” (IRAHelp, 2022).

He has also hosted several public television programs, including his latest,  “Ed Slott’s Retirement Freedom,” and is a professor of practice at the American College of Financial Services.

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You can listen to our latest podcasts here or download them to your phone from any number of places, including Apple, Spotify, RadioPublic, Stitcher and RSS.

If you haven’t listened to our podcast yet, give it a try, then subscribe. You’ll be glad you did!

About the hosts

Stacy Johnson founded Money Talks News in 1991. He’s a CPA, and he has also earned licenses in stocks, commodities, options principal, mutual funds, life insurance, securities supervisor and real estate.

Miranda Marquit, MBA, is a financial expert, writer and speaker. She’s been covering personal finance and investing topics for almost 20 years. When not writing and podcasting, she enjoys travel, reading and the outdoors.

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