Aaron Charles Gregg

What Is the Required Minimum Distribution for 2021?

“Whether you need to take required minimum distributions to live or find them to be a nuisance, here are some tips to make the most of withdrawing these funds.”

There have been a number of changes to the requirements for RMDs—Required Minimum Distributions—from traditional retirement accounts, says a recent article titled “2 Essential Strategies for Taking Your RMDs” from Kiplinger. In 2019, the age for RMDs was raised from 70½ to 72. In 2020, they were waived altogether because of the pandemic. Now they’re back, and you want to know how to make good decisions about them.

Most people take the default approach, taking a lump sum of cash at the start or the end of the year. This is not the best approach. Investment markets and your own need for income are better indicators for how and when to take your RMD. If you can at all avoid it, never take an RMD from a declining market.

You can take your RMD anytime during the calendar year, from January 1 to December 31. If it’s the first time you’ve taken an RMD, you get a bonus: you can wait until April 1 of the year after your 72^nd birthday. The RMD is calculated, by dividing the account balance on December 31 of the preceding year by your life expectancy factor, based on your age. You can find it in the IRS’s Uniform Lifetime Table.

2021 distributions will be bigger, and not just because of the market’s 2020 performance. Instead, distributions will be bigger because of how the accounts are designed, with RMDs becoming a larger percentage over time. It starts as a small percentage and eventually becomes the entire account, which is then depleted. Remember, the sole purpose of the RMD is to force retirees to take money out of their retirement accounts and pay taxes on the money.

Many retirees take RMDs because they need the money to live on. Here’s where money management gets tricky. It’s far easier to take smaller amounts of money at regular intervals, kind of like a paycheck, than taking a big amount once a year. We’re creatures of habit and are used to receiving income and managing it that way.

Distributions on a regular basis also fosters a better sense of how much money you have to live on, encouraging you to create and adhere to a budget.

If you don’t need the income, taking money through regular installments also has an advantage. It’s like the opposite of dollar-cost averaging. Instead of putting money into the market in small increments over time to even out market ups and downs, you’re taking money out of the market at regular intervals. You’re not cashing out at the market’s lowest point, or at the highest. And if you’re reinvesting RMDs in a taxable account, this strategy works especially well.

Reference: Kiplinger (June 10, 2021) “2 Essential Strategies for Taking Your RMDs”

Will Your Estate Plan Work Now?

“Under the new law, not only must all of the tax on IRAs and plans benefits be paid much earlier than it was before, but the rate will likely be much higher too, since that income will be bundled into the recipients’ peak earning years.”

The demise of the stretch IRA is causing many IRA owners and their advisors to take a look at how their estate plans will work under the new law. An article from Financial Advisor titled “Navigating The New Estate Planning Realities” offers several different planning alternatives.

Take larger IRA distributions during your lifetime. If possible, take the IRA distributions and reinvest them in a Roth IRA or other assets that will receive a stepped-up income tax basis on the death of the account owner. The idea is to take out significant additional penalty-free amounts from IRAs during your lifetime, so you will hopefully be taxed at a lower rate than you would be otherwise, with the net after-tax funds then reinvested in either a Roth IRA or other assets that will receive a stepped-up income tax basis when you die.

Paying all or part of the IRA portion of the estate to lower-income tax bracket beneficiaries. The theory here is that if we have to learn to live with the new tax law, at least we can attempt to minimize the tax pain by doing estate planning with a focus on tax planning. If a person has four children, two in high-income tax brackets and two who are in lower tax brackets, leave the IRA portion of the assets to the children in the lower tax brackets and assets with a stepped-up basis to the higher earners.

Withdrawing additional funds early and using the after-tax amount to purchase income-tax-free life or long-term care insurance. Rather than withdrawing all of the IRA funds early, freeze the current value of the IRA, by withdrawing only the account growth or the RMD portion, whichever is greater. Note that this won’t work if the withdrawals push the person’s income into the next higher tax bracket. All or a portion of the after-tax withdrawals then go into an income-tax-free life insurance policy, including second-to-die life insurance that pays only upon the death of both spouses.

Paying IRA benefits to an income tax-exempt charitable remainder trust. This involves designating an income-tax exempt charitable remainder trust as the beneficiary of the IRA proceeds. Let’s say a $100,000 IRA is made payable to a charitable remainder unitrust that pays three adult children or their survivors 7.5% of the value of the trust corpus (determined annually) each year, until the last child dies. Assume this occurs over the course of 30 years, and that the trust grows at the same 7.5% rate for the next twenty years. The children would net nearly $400,000. Note that the principal of the trust may not be accessed, until it’s paid out to the children, according to the designated schedule.

Every situation is different, so it is important to sit down with your estate planning attorney and review your entire estate, tax liabilities under the new law and how different scenarios will work to both minimize taxes during your lifetime and for your heirs. It’s possible that your situation benefits from a combination of all four strategies.

Reference: Financial Advisor (Feb. 11, 2020) “Navigating The New Estate Planning Realities,”

What’s Your Retirement Distribution Plan?

“Failing to withdraw a required minimum distribution (RMD) from your own or an inherited IRA by the deadline results in a big tax code penalty: 50%. That's right.”

If you were supposed to take out an RMD of $4,000 from your retirement accounts and somehow forgot to do this, you’ll be writing the IRS a check for $2,000. Ouch! This is something you can easily avoid, says Yahoo Finance’s article “Know These 3 Facts to Avoid Paying Half Your Retirement Income to the IRS.”

Most investors spend a lot of time building their retirement income accounts—their entire working life. However, there’s a second phase of retirement finances that doesn’t get quite as much attention. That’s the “distribution” phase, when the money that you put into accounts for decades needs to be taken out and used for what is ideally an enjoyable retirement.

Preparations for this phase are usually focused on where to live, how much travel you can afford, what interests you may pursue and the choices that are made regarding retirement spending.

With those choices come some fixed payments that you need to keep in mind as you budget. The IRS has rules about Required Minimum Distributions, or RMDs, that are strict. While some of the rules changed as of January 1, 2020, the penalties have not. Starting at age 72, you have to take your RMDs, or pay a steep price.

Here are the main types of accounts that have RMDs: IRAs, 401(k)s, 457 plans, SEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, TSP, 403(b)s, and TSAs. They all require RMDs in retirement.

The first distribution must be taken by April 1 of the year following the calendar year that you turn 72. If you retire after age 72, you have to take your first RMD from your 401(k), profit-sharing 403(b) or other defined contribution plan by April 1 of the year after the calendar year in which you retire.

For subsequent years after your required beginning date, you have to take your RMD by December 31.

You don’t have to take any RMDs for Roth IRA accounts, since those accounts are funded by post-tax dollars. There are Roth retirement accounts that do have RMDs, like a Roth 401(k). Some people roll their Roth 401(k) into a Roth IRA and pay the taxes at the time of the rollover, anticipating high taxes in the near future.

If you don’t take your RMD, or don’t take a large enough distribution, the IRS penalty is 50% of the amount that was not withdrawn.

To calculate your RMD for 2020, divide your retirement account balance on December 31, 2019, by a “distribution period” factor based on your age. For example, Lisa Sue is 71 and must take her first distribution at age 72. Her year-end IRA balance for the prior year was $100,000. Her distribution factor is 27.4. Divide $100,000 by 27.4 and the amount of the RMD is $3,649.63. That’s her RMD.

Understanding the distribution phase of your retirement is as important as the savings phase. While you’re planning, don’t neglect the estate plan that needs to be updated or prepared. That includes a will, power of attorney, medical power of attorney and other documents. Talk with an experienced estate planning attorney to create a plan to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Reference: Yahoo Finance (Jan. 9, 2020) “Know These 3 Facts to Avoid Paying Half Your Retirement Income to the IRS”

Life Insurance Is a Good Estate Planning Tool but Needs to Be Done Carefully

“Life insurance may play a vital role in an estate plan, because insurance proceeds can be counted on to provide liquidity when it’s needed.”

With proper planning and the help of a seasoned estate planning or probate attorney, insurance money can pay expenses, like estate tax and avoid the need to liquidate other assets, says FEDweek’s recent article entitled “Errors to Avoid in Using Life Insurance for Estate Planning.”

As an example, let’s say that Reggie passes away and leaves a large estate to his daughter Veronica. There’s a big estate tax that’s due. However, the majority of Reggie’s assets are tied up in real estate and an IRA. In light of this, Veronica might not want to proceed directly into a forced sale of the real estate. However, if she taps the inherited IRA to raise cash, she’ll be required to pay income tax on the withdrawal and forfeit a very worthwhile opportunity for extended tax deferral.

If Reggie plans ahead, he could purchase insurance on his own life. The proceeds could be used to pay the estate tax bill. As a result, Veronica can retain the real estate, while taking only minimum required distributions (RMDs) from the inherited IRA.

If the insurance policy is owned by Veronica or by a trust, the proceeds probably won’t be included in Reggie’s estate and won’t increase her estate taxes.

Along these same lines, here are some common life insurance errors to avoid:
Designating your estate as beneficiary. When you make this move, it puts the insurance policy proceeds into your estate, exposing it to estate tax and your creditors. Your executor will also have to deal with more paperwork, if your estate is the beneficiary. Instead, name the appropriate people or charities.

Designating just a single beneficiary. You should name at least two “backup” beneficiaries. This will decrease any confusion, if the primary beneficiary predeceases you.
Throwing the copy of your life insurance policy in the “file and forget” drawer. You should review your policies at least once every few years. If the beneficiary is an ex-spouse or someone who’s passed away, make the appropriate changes and get a confirmation from the insurance company in writing.

Failing to carry adequate insurance. If you have a youngster, it undoubtedly requires hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay all her expenses, such as college bills, in the event of your untimely death.

Talk to a qualified and experienced estate planning attorney about the particulars of your situation.

Reference: FEDweek (Dec. 12, 2019) “Errors to Avoid in Using Life Insurance for Estate Planning”

How Does the SECURE Act Change Your Estate Plan?

“These changes are so significant that every such plan holders should review their wishes and how their estate plans may be affected.”

The SECURE Act has made big changes to how IRA distributions occur after death. Anyone who owns an IRA, regardless of its size, needs to examine their retirement savings plan and their estate plan to see how these changes will have an impact. The article “SECURE Act New IRA Rules: Change Your Estate Plan” from Forbes explains what the changes are and the steps that need be taken.

Some of the changes include revising wills and trusts which include provisions creating conduit trusts that had been created to hold IRAs and preserve the stretch IRA benefit, while the IRA plan owner was still alive.

Existing conduit trusts may need to be modified before the owner’s death to address how the SECURE Act might undermine the intent of the trust.

Rethinking and possibly completely restructuring the planning for the IRA account may need to occur. This may mean making a charity the beneficiary of the account, and possibly using life insurance or other planning strategies to create a replacement for the value of the charitable donation.

Another alternative may be to pay the IRA balance to a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) on death that will stretch out the distributions to the beneficiary of the CRT over that beneficiary’s lifetime under the CRT rules. Paired with a life insurance trust, this might replace the assets that will ultimately pass to the charity under the CRT rules.

The biggest change in the SECURE Act being examined by estate planning and tax planning attorneys is the loss of the “stretch” IRA for beneficiaries inheriting IRAs after 2019. Most beneficiaries who inherit an IRA after 2019 will be required to completely withdraw all plan assets within ten years of the date of death.

One result of the change of this law will be to generate tax revenues. In the past, the ability to stretch an IRA out over many years, even decades, allowed families to pass wealth across generations with minimal taxes, while the IRAs continued to grow tax tree.

Another interesting change: No withdrawals need be made during that ten-year period, if that is the beneficiary’s wish. However, at the ten-year mark, ALL assets must be withdrawn, and taxes paid.

Under the prior law, the period in which the IRA assets needed to be distributed was based on whether the plan owner died before or after the RMD and the age of the beneficiary.

The deferral of withdrawals and income tax benefits encouraged many IRA owners to bequeath a large IRA balance completely to their heirs. Others, with larger IRAs, used a conduit trust to flow the RMDs to the beneficiary and protect the balance of the plan.

There are exceptions to the 10-year SECURE Act payout rule. Certain “eligible designated beneficiaries” are not required to follow the ten-year rule. They include the surviving spouse, chronically ill heirs and disabled heirs. Minor children are also considered eligible beneficiaries, but when they become legal adults, the ten year distribution rule applies to them. Therefore, by age 28 (ten years after attaining legal majority), they must take all assets from the IRA and pay the taxes as applicable.

The new law and its ramifications are under intense scrutiny by members of the estate planning and elder law bar because of these and other changes. Speak with your estate planning attorney to review your estate plan to ensure that your goals will be achieved in light of these changes.

Reference: Forbes (Dec. 25, 2019) “SECURE Act New IRA Rules: Change Your Estate Plan”

Should I Name a Minor as an IRA Beneficiary?

“IRAs provide better opportunities for long-term growth than other assets you could leave to a minor.”

People often leave assets to minors, but is making a minor an IRA beneficiary a really bright idea?

There are many ways to give assets to those for whom you want to leave a legacy. You can leave tangible assets. However, the age of the person to whom you leave the gift will frequently decide the form of, and the conditions under which, they receive the property. Let’s look at some of the advantages and potential negatives of leaving an IRA to a minor.
Investopedia’s recent article, “Designating a Minor as an IRA Beneficiary,” explains that there are several reasons why someone might want to give an IRA to a beneficiary who is not yet an adult. One of the most obvious is that IRAs can provide much greater flexibility and potential for long-term growth than, for example, savings bonds. IRAs also don’t have to be used for higher education or any other specific purpose in order to avoid taxation. Young beneficiaries also get the benefit of a lower required minimum distribution (RMD) over their lifetimes, as the beneficiary’s life expectancy is used when calculating their RMDs.

For example, if you died and left $100,000 of IRA money to a one-year-old granddaughter this year, her current life expectancy would be 81.6 years. Assuming that the funds in the account grow at 8% to 10% per year, she could withdraw several million dollars from the account during her lifetime. If the money were in a Roth IRA, she’d probably also save at least a million dollars in taxes.

If you leave an IRA to a minor, there must be an appointment of a guardian to manage the account, until the child reaches adulthood. Minors can’t own legal property of any kind in their name. Instead, you can appoint a guardian to manage the property on their behalf, until they reach the age of majority (18 or 21, depending on the state). If you do not do this, the court will appoint one for you—and that could be a person who may have very different thoughts about how the account should be managed and invested.

The law prohibits IRA custodians from dealing directly with minors in any capacity. A will doesn’t solve the problem because wills only deal with probate assets, and IRAs are exempt from probate. The minor’s parents or another relative can petition the court for guardianship, if you fail to make an appointment. However, this can be expensive, time-consuming and really unnecessary.

There are a couple of different ways that your beneficiary can receive the IRA. One option is to put the distributions inside a custodial account, like an UGMA or UTMA account. However, there could be adverse tax consequences for the minor’s parents (or whoever claims the minor as a dependent on a tax return) if the minor’s income is above a certain threshold. That’s because the parent or guardian must pay tax on the excess at their top marginal tax rate. This also gives the minor sole custody of the property at the age of majority, but she may not be prepared at that time to handle a large sum of money.

Another possibility is to put the money into a 529 plan. This will let the assets grow tax free, until they’re used to pay for qualified higher education expenses.

A more comprehensive solution may be to use a revocable living trust as the beneficiary for the IRA. The minor is named the beneficiary for the trust, and the guardian would be appointed as the trustee. A big benefit of a trust is that you can provide specific instructions as to how you want the guardian to handle the IRA distributions for the minor.

There are several available options, so talk with an experienced estate planning attorney about what makes the most sense for you and your family.

Reference: Investopedia (September 7, 2019) “Designating a Minor as an IRA Beneficiary”

What’s the Best Way to Take My Required Minimum Distribution?

“If you miss the deadline for taking an RMD, you’ll be hit with a tax penalty. If you’re retired or have inherited a retirement account, you must take your required minimum distributions by December 31.”

CNBC’s recent article, “These tips can help retirees make required minimum distributions easy and tax penalty free,” gives the steps to follow, so we don’t leave money on the table.
RMDs or required minimum distributions, are the minimum amount people age 70½ and older must withdraw from their retirement funds. If you’ve inherited a retirement account, you may also have to make a withdrawal. The amount you need to withdraw varies from year to year and is based on specific calculations, including what your account values were as of December 31 the prior year and your age.

The time to get started on your RMD for this year is right now, because the paperwork may take some time. You have until April 1, if you just turned 70½ this year. Let’s look at a few tips:

Get your paperwork organized. In order to know how much you have to withdraw, you have to have an accurate picture of what you own. Create a list of accounts and take an inventory first, so you know where all your retirement accounts are located.

Know what you can take from what account. If you have multiple IRAs, you can take your total RMD from any one of those accounts because of the aggregation rule. However, with multiple IRAs, you still must calculate the amount you take out based on the value of all of them. It’s that same with multiple 403(b) retirement accounts. The rule doesn’t apply to 401(k) plans. If you have multiple 401(k) accounts, you must take money from each one, and you can’t take an RMD from an IRA to satisfy a 401(k), or vice versa.

Understand the rules, if you’re still working. If you’re 70½ and still employed, you could get a break from taking your RMD in certain circumstances. Generally, 401(k) plans have a still-working rule, which stipulates that you don’t have to take the RMD until you retire. However, you can only delay the RMDs, if the plan is attached to the company where you’re currently employed. Other accounts from a previous employer are excluded, so you must still take distributions from those.

Keep an eye on any inherited accounts. If you’ve inherited a retirement account, you may have to take an RMD by the end of this year. That generally doesn’t apply if you inherited the money from your spouse, because spouses can do a rollover and keep postponing the distributions. However, if you’re a non-spouse beneficiary, you probably must take a distribution by the end of 2019. If you inherited the account in 2018, you’ll need to take your first RMD in 2019. RMDs from a Roth IRA will likely be tax-free. However, if you’ve inherited one of these accounts and you didn’t take that money out, you’ll have to pay a 50% penalty on the funds you should’ve withdrawn.

Consider giving to charity. A good way to avoid paying taxes on your RMD, is to give the money to charity. A qualified charitable distribution lets you to make donations to a charity directly from your IRA, instead of taking the RMD yourself. Therefore, if your RMD is $5,000, and you typically give $5,000 to charity each year, you can donate that money directly and not pay tax on it.

Reference: CNBC (November 29, 2019) “These tips can help retirees make required minimum distributions easy and tax penalty free”

If I Roll All My IRA Money to a Roth, Will I Forfeit Some Tax Benefits?

“Anyone planning to roll over all their assets from a traditional individual retirement account to a Roth version, might want to pause before making the move.”

Rolling over all of your assets from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA can mean tax-free income down the road. However, remember that you’ll also pay taxes on the amount moved. That means there will be no future opportunity to reduce your tax rate further.

CNBC’s recent article, “Moving all your IRA money to a Roth means losing some tax benefits,” says that those lost tax benefits generally relate to medical expenses, charitable contributions and business losses. In contrast, if you leave too much in the IRA, the result may not be good. You may have higher required minimum distributions and taxes.
Roth IRAs grow tax-free and withdrawals generally are also untaxed. They also have no lifetime required minimum distributions, or RMDs. However, traditional IRAs have some potential tax benefits that are gone for good, once the money is moved.

The primary concept in managing taxes in retirement is that you want to get as much money out of your accounts at the lowest possible cost. When you roll over money from a traditional IRA to a Roth, the amount moved is taxed as ordinary income. As a result, you should complete the rollover when you’re in as low a tax bracket as possible. This means tax-free income available down the road, but it also means you’ll have already paid taxes on the rollover. Thus, there’s no opportunity to reduce your rate further. However, if you leave too much in the IRA, the result may not be good. If you think that you might have these future expenses, then it might make sense to keep money in the traditional IRA.

Medical expenses. These are usually a major expense for older Americans and that’s not including the cost of long-term care. However, a tax break for medical expenses is one of the few remaining deductions available to individuals, since the new tax law in 2018. It’s limited to the amount that exceeds 10% of your adjusted gross income and you must itemize your deductions to take advantage of it. However, those with high medical bills can potentially reduce their taxes by applying it. To take the deduction, you must have taxable income to weigh it against. So, if much of your income is coming from a Roth IRA tax-free, you could be restricted in whether you can take advantage of the break. If you took money from an IRA (whose withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income) to cover those health costs, you could use the medical deduction against that withdrawal. This could result in paying less in taxes than what you had paid by rolling that money to a Roth.

Qualified charitable distributions. If you give money to charity each year, keeping money in your traditional IRA to make those donations could be wise, because contributions made through qualified charitable distributions—funds sent directly to the charity from a traditional IRA—are excluded from your taxable income. However, the tax break for charitable contributions can only be used if you itemize your deductions, and generally, a deduction isn’t as valuable as an income exclusion. Note that this strategy is only available to IRA owners and beneficiaries who are age 70½ or older. Since that is the age when RMDs kick in, the move could reduce your tax liability on the RMD to zero. If your RMD is $5,000, but you give $5,000 to charity anyway, do the qualified charitable distribution, and you don’t have to pick up any of the income.

Business losses. These can only be claimed on your tax return, if you have income to claim them against.

General tax considerations. No matter your overall income, any amount that falls into each of seven defined brackets is taxed at a specific rate. Therefore, the more income you can get taxed at those lower rates, the better. If you could leave some money in the IRA to soak up some of those lower tax rates in the future, you may pay less in taxes on the money than if you converted it.

The current tax brackets and rates will go back to pre-2018 levels at the end of 2025, unless Congress takes action before that time. Therefore, while tax rates are low now, odds are good that they’ll be higher after 2025.

Reference: CNBC (November 27, 2019) “Moving all your IRA money to a Roth means losing some tax benefits”

What Will New Acts of Congress Mean for Stretch IRAs?

“I am concerned about the SECURE and RESA acts currently being considered in Congress. If either of them passes, my children will lose the inherited stretch IRA ability and face a much higher tax bill upon my demise.”
The SECURE and RESA acts are currently being considered in Congress. These acts may impact stretch IRAs. A stretch IRA is an estate planning strategy that extends the tax-deferred condition of an inherited IRA, when it is passed to a non-spouse beneficiary. This strategy lets the account continue tax-deferred growth over a long period of time.
If a parent doesn’t need her Required Minimum Distributions, does it make sense to do a gradual Roth IRA conversion and use the RMDs to pay taxes on the conversion? Or should the parent invest the RMDs in a brokerage account?
There are several options in this situation, according to nj.com’s recent article, “With Stretch IRAs on the way out, how can I plan for my children’s inheritance?”
Congress is considering legislation with the SECURE and RESA Acts, that would eliminate the ability of children to create a stretch IRA, one that would let them to stretch distributions from the inherited IRA over their lifetimes.
Under the proposed SECURE and RESA Acts under consideration, the maximum deferral period will be 10 years. If the beneficiary is a minor, the period would be 10 years or age 21.
The best planning strategy for a parent would depend on her overall finances and what she wants for her children’s inheritance.
The conversion to a Roth may be a good planning move, depending on her tax bracket. Putting the money in a brokerage account is also an option.
A parent may also want to think about using the RMD proceeds to purchase a life insurance policy held by an irrevocable trust for the benefit of her children.
It’s best to contact an experienced estate planning attorney, so he or she can review the details of the parent’s finances and help her choose the best options for her situation.
Reference: nj.com (October 15, 2019) “With Stretch IRAs on the way out, how can I plan for my children’s inheritance?”

How Do I Receive an Inheritance Wisely?

“Receiving an inheritance is helpful, but don't let the potential tax bill surprise you.”

The way in which spouses and other heirs go ahead and withdraw the funds from inherited IRAs or 401(k)s can have big tax implications, according to U.S. News & World Report’s recent article, “Tax-Savvy Ways to Manage an Inheritance.”

Receiving an inheritance from a deceased relative means there may be some complicated tax repercussions. Spending that money quickly or thoughtlessly can also result in an unexpectedly high tax bill. Let’s look at how heirs can make sure they're thinking about taxes when benefiting from an inheritance, with some tax-savvy ways to manage inherited wealth.

IRAs or 401(k)s. If a deceased relative, spouse, or friend passes along an IRA or employer retirement savings account, you should understand how it will be taxed. The options for the account are based on your relationship to the deceased person. A spouse may be able to roll the funds into their own account. That’s an option that other beneficiaries don't have. A spouse can also open an Inherited or Beneficiary IRA account. This account has both partners' names on it. A young spouse can withdraw funds, without getting hit with the 10% early withdrawal penalty.

Other heirs of the benefactor, such as a child, nephew, niece, or grandchild, don't have the option to deposit the money in their own retirement account. However, they can hold it in an Inherited IRA account. Once they decide how to deposit the money, the rate at which spouses and other heirs decide to withdraw the funds can have significant tax implications. If they decide to take out all the money in a lump sum, they may experience a "double whammy" tax bill. That’s because for a traditional IRA, the lump sum would be treated as taxable income. Beneficiaries could pay roughly 40% in taxes if they live in a state that charges income tax. It also could push them into a higher tax bracket, causing them to pay more taxes on their regular income.

The better move for heirs is to spread out the distributions over their lifetime. This is often called a "stretch IRA," because it allows investors to stretch out the time during which earnings can grow.

The specific rules regarding how beneficiaries manage Inherited IRAs are determined by whether the deceased person was older than 70½ at the time of death. Generally, heirs who want to keep their tax bill as low possible, must take required minimum distributions (RMDs), based on their life expectancy, within about a year of inheriting the account. They won't see the 10% early withdrawal penalty, but they'll be taxed on the amount they take out. However, the RMDs will generally be smaller than a lump sum and less apt to push them into a higher tax bracket. Recipients who want to take minimum distributions, must take the first one before the required date, or they may be forced to liquidate the account within five years.

Inherited Roth IRAs have already been taxed and don’t have the same tax burden. However, that’s not a good reason to immediately withdraw a lump sum. As long as you take RMDs, IRA funds can stay in the account and grow tax-free.

Stocks or Mutual Funds. An inheritance may also consist of investments outside of a retirement account, like individual stocks or mutual funds. Remember the "step-up basis," which is important to reduce taxes on the sale of these investments. When the owner dies, regardless what they paid for that stock or mutual fund, the cost basis “steps up” to whatever the price of that stock or fund was at the date of death. For example, if a grandfather bought IBM stock for $5 per share, and when he dies, it's worth $100. The heir's basis is the stock’s value when he died, rather than the price at which he bought the stock years earlier. It’s a critical difference when it comes to how heirs calculate and pay capital gains taxes, upon the sale of an asset.

Remember that these assets may have to go through probate. Assets like mutual funds and houses that don’t have a beneficiary designated, may go through probate. This can be avoided with proper planning in advance.

Real Estate. Similar to stocks and mutual funds, an inherited house enjoys a step-up basis. For tax purposes, the cost basis is what the market value was when the benefactor died. Try to have the home appraised immediately after the benefactor's death, to gain an understanding of what the basis is now. If it's not being passed along to a spouse, an inherited house will usually need to go through probate.

Life Insurance. Life insurance is tax-free, but you still need to do good financial planning when deciding how to invest the life insurance payout.

Cash. A cash inheritance isn’t taxable at the federal level. It’s a good reason to start working with an estate planning attorney, so that you use the money effectively and avoid a big tax bill.

Reference: U.S. News & World Report (October 18, 2018) “Tax-Savvy Ways to Manage an Inheritance”