IRAs

Most taxpayers who have earned income are eligible for an IRA. Some high-income individuals are excluded from Roth IRAs. The phase out for individuals is $95,000-$110,000 and $150,000-$160,000 for joint filers in 2008. Check with your tax advisor for complete details.

Your spouse can have his or her own IRA even if they don’t earn income.

A rollover IRA is established when you have a distribution from a previous retirement plan. It is very common for people who change employers to take their 401 (k) balance and “roll it over” into a Self-Directed IRA.

If you are planning to retire soon, or change jobs, you may be about to receive a distribution from your present company’s pension or profit sharing plan. Without careful planning, you could lose a significant part of your distribution to the government in taxes.

If you want to defer taxation on the distribution and still keep control of your investment options, it is important that you don’t take the distribution in hand. If you follow very specific rules, you can roll over the balance without a current tax liability. Your Investment Representative can handle the details for you.

If your current IRA does not allow you the flexibility of investment choices that meet your objectives, you may want to consider transferring your assets into another IRA option.

With an IRA Transfer, you do not take possession of your existing IRA assets. Instead, your Representative will help you prepare a Custodial Transfer Authorization form authorizing the tax-free transfer of all or a portion of your current account. The assets will be transferred on your behalf to the IRA.