YOUR IRA Retirement Questions Answered, Ep #5

<p>In this episode of Retirement Made Easy, I answer YOUR pressing questions. Over the last month, a variety of questions have been rolling in about social security, retirement, inheritances, and more. So with their permission, I’m sharing their questions—along with my best answer to them. As always, double-check my answers against whoever it is your family trusts for prudent financial advice before making any decisions.</p> <h2>You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...</h2> <ul> <li>[0:12] We answer listener questions in this episode!</li> <li>[2:15] Question #1: What do I do when I inherit an IRA?</li> <li>[8:47] Question #2: Can I gift IRA money to my children?</li> <li>[10:34] Question #3: How do Social Security survivor benefits work?</li> <li>[12:16] Question #4: Are annuities good or bad?</li> <li>[16:03] Question #5: How do social security spousal benefits work?</li> </ul> <h2>What do I do when I inherit a non-spousal IRA?</h2> <p>A 57-year-old listener recently inherited an IRA from his father, who passed away in January of 2020. He doesn’t want to pay a 10% penalty for early withdrawal. So what are his options? </p> <p>The IRS breaks the rules of inheritance into two different categories: <em>spousal</em> and <em>non-spousal</em>. If your spouse passes away, their IRA can get moved into yours—but that <em>only</em> applies to spouses. You cannot do that if you’re inheriting a non-spousal IRA. </p> <p>Your fathers’ IRA has to stay separate as a beneficiary or an inherited IRA. The good news? There is NO 10% early withdrawal penalty. <em>It does not apply</em>. <a href= "http://investopedia.com/what-is-secure-act-how-affect-retirement-4692743" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The SECURE Act</a> that was passed in 2019 has more details on a big provision regarding inherited IRAs. New rules regarding required minimum distributions (RMDs) apply if you inherit an IRA from someone who passed away after January 1st, 2020.</p> <p>The way the rules used to work: You could stretch that IRA out a