IRAs, 401(k)s & Other Retirement Plans: Strategies for Taking Your Money Out

By Twila Slesnick and John C. Suttle

Take cash out of your retirement plan while avoiding taxes and penalties

If you have a retirement plan, IRAs, 401(k)s & Other Retirement Plans is your comprehensive guide on taking money out of it. Make sense of the complex tax rules governing when you can take money out of your plan and how much—all while avoiding the penalties and taxes that lurk in the fine print.

In plain English, this book covers the most common retirement plans, including 401(k)s, IRAs, profit-sharing plans, Keoghs, pensions, and tax-deferred annuities. It helps you answer these questions:

What kind of retirement plan do I have?

Can I take money out of my plan before I retire?

Can I borrow money from my 401(k) to buy a house?

What should I do with my 401(k) when I switch jobs?

What is a Roth 401(k)?Can I set one up?

When do I need to start taking money out of my plan?

What happens to my plan when I die?

Completely updated, IRAs, 401(k)s & Other Retirement Plans provides clear examples to guide you through the decision-making process and the crunching of tax numbers. Samples of tax forms required by the IRS are also included, as well as easy-to-follow instructions on completing them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: NOLO
• Release date: Jun 29, 2015
• ISBN: 9781413321630

Twila Slesnick

Twila Slesnick is an Enrolled Agent who specializes in tax and investment planning for retirees and prospective retirees, and does pension plan consulting for individuals and small businesses. She has conducted numerous seminars throughout the U.S. in the areas of retirement and tax planning. Slesnick has been featured on television and radio programs across the country and in publications including Money Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek and Consumer Reports. She is the author (with John Suttle) of IRAs, 401(k)s and Other Retirement Plans: Taking Your Money Out. Slesnick has a bachelor's, master's and Ph.D., all from the University of California, Berkeley.

Reviews for IRAs, 401(k)s & Other Retirement Plans

[reader1009-863136 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This doesn't have the latest pandemic rules for RMDs (allowing some but not all people to wait to take them in the year after they turn 72--the IRS website actually is fairly clear on the details), but it was a good reference to review all the kinds of qualified plans and the separate rules for Roth IRAs, both in terms of avoiding extra taxes when withdrawing from them, and also in terms of estate planning.

[chris177 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Each chapter can be read any time you need more information or you can read the whole book to gain a detail review of the different types of retirement plans. This is one of the things I like best about NOLO books; you don’t need to read them cover to cover to gain useful knowledge. I got this book from LibraryThing as part of their book give away.

[corgiiman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is chocked full of information for anyone starting a retirement plan all the way through the distribution of that plan. It answers all kinds of question and shows you how to calculation taxes, distributions etc..It is a valuablel asset for the retirement investor.

[foof2you · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What I liked about this book is that each in the beginning of each chapter chapter is a section entitled "Who should read chapter __". This great since you can read what you desire and skip area that do not apply to you or your family. I found that this book reminded me of a Dummies book, without the yellow cover and funky print. I did find the contents to be helpful and informative. With headings such as, skip ahead, tips, caution, helpful terms and resources.

[rufusraider · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a very good book describing the various retirement planning options and how they work. It is very comprehensive and covers a lot of the tax implications of the various plans. This is also the biggest drawback to the book, in that it is too comprehensive. The writing can be very technical which is required when dealing with the various nuances of the IRS tax code. Most people will not be dealing with all of the options. I would recommend you read through most of the book now to help you with long range planning, and then reread it in more detail as you approach retirement.

[wortklauberlein · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A law librarian at a webinar the other day gave Nolo publications high marks. Twila Slesnick's updated guide to withdrawing your money from your retirement plans is a good example of what Nolo does well: translating complex language into words most of us can understand readily. This guide also is a lot less dry than the IRS publications. For example, it notes: "Some people are tempted to choose the path of least resistance. This is true in life generally, but especially true in the part of life that requires dealing with the IRS."Slesnick presents an overview of tax rules, information on kinds of beneficiaries, rollovers and Roth IRAs, plus handy tables for calculating the amount a person of a certain age must withdraw after age 70. Information on ways to minimize income tax on those tax-deferred funds is particularly welcome.Being of the total-avoidance school of retirement planning, I found this book a good kick-start and will refer back to it, or its successor volume, when those required minimum distributions are a reality for me. Meanwhile, I'll go back to reading Nolo's "Retire Happy."

[nathanaels_19 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a very thorough coverage of retirement accounts from the perspective of someone preparing for retirement or already in retirement. It explains the various retirement vehicles and how to work with them and transfer from one to another. This guide is not intended for small business owners trying to set up the system for their company. Basically, this guide is for people who want to use the vehicles which are already available to them. It is extremely well organized and easy to use as a reference book. As usual for Nolo guides, the style is very clear and easy to follow.