How to Maximize IRA Accumulations
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-2000
Abstract
The article provides guidelines on how CPAs can help some individual retirement account (IRA) owners prolong the distribution period by naming a designated beneficiary, establishing multiple IRAs or recalculating the owner's life expectancy. To compute required IRA distributions for an account with 110 designated beneficiary, an owner uses the single life expectancy tables to determine his or her life expectancy. Having a designated beneficiary allows the owner to use the joint life expectancy tables to compute required distributions based on the joint life expectancy of the owner and the designated beneficiary. Owners with several IRAs compute the minimum distributions using the appropriate life expectancy for each account. The aggregate of the required distributions from all traditional IRAs must be made during the year, but distributions can be made from any of the owner's traditional IRAs. The decision regarding which account to take distributions from can affect the future earnings and distributions from the various accounts.