Mickey Meece, contributing writer for the The New York Times, recently interviewed McManus & Associates Founding Principal John O. McManus for an article published in the newspaper’s Retirement Section. The story, titled “With Tax Changes Near, ‘You Can’t Wait to Plan,’” showcases the below advice on managing retirement accounts from McManus:
John O. McManus, a trust and estate lawyer in Manhattan, suggested that some people should consider converting their individual retirement accounts to Roth I.R.A.’s to take advantage of the 2012 tax rate. A Roth I.R.A. is funded with after-tax money. Unlike other retirement accounts, Roths have no minimum distribution requirements after age 70 1/2, the accounts compound free of tax and distributions are tax-free. For those reasons, Mr. McManus said he was recommending Roth conversions to his clients.
To read the full write-up by the Times, click here.
Beyond what was included in Meece’s piece, McManus — a top-AV rated attorney — shared additional helpful estate planning tips related to the topic:
Tax rates will increase significantly in 2013 unless legislative action is taken. Roth I.R.A.’s can compound further without the requirement of mandatory distributions for those who find it “unnecessary” to take distributions. If someone lives to age 90, for example, the Roth IRA could experience significant additional growth, since it is not diminished by the mandatory distributions of a typical IRA. Furthermore, after his or her death, the children, who are then required to take distributions from the Roth IRA, will not pay income tax on those distributions. The result is 40 potential years of income-tax-free distributions to the children while tax rates may be higher than they are today. Finally, for those who have an estate that is subject to state estate tax and federal estate tax today, the act of converting to a Roth IRA today and paying the necessary income tax serves to reduce the future estate tax by reducing the amount of assets subject to tax, while ensuring greater income-tax-free compounding for his or her heirs down the road.
Advisors at McManus & Associates are available to discuss further.
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