The Retirement Savings Time Bomb . . . and How to Defuse It: A Five-Step Action Plan for Protecting Your IRAs, 401(k)s, and Other Retirement Plans from Near Annihilation by the Taxman Paperback – January 3, 2012

As far as I'm concerned, Ed Slott is the go-to guy when it comes to deciphering the ins-and-outs of retirement accounts. He covers Traditional IRA's, Roth IRA's, 401(k)'s, 457's, and others, and knows how to get to the important stuff in an informative, and relatively easy-to-understand way. There's even a little CPA humor thrown in ever now and then to help keep you focused. He covers taxes, timing, using insurance, and other topics that everyone that has one of these accounts MUST know in order to get the most out of them(literally). He also makes a compelling case for using Roth IRA's instead of Traditional IRA's; and I gotta say, I'm convinced! Make mine a Roth!Get the latest version of this book, and you won't be disappointed. Thanks Ed!

Following a careful read, I concluded the advice in the book is valid, but not for everyone . The copy I read was current in 2007, therefore somewhat dated. Some of the advice did not apply partly because the copy was five years old and partly because my financial situation is unique. For instance, the exemption for federal estate tax is now five million dollars, much higher than in 2007 (two million then). I discovered this by going to the internal revenue service web site. Of course, the law could be changed again and the exemption lowered, perhaps in an attempt to lower the national debt. Also, there were no tables giving the state estate tax laws (exemptions and tax rates, etc). I found that the estate tax in the state where I reside is at most 9.5 percent. I'm guessing this is probably much lower than estate taxes for most states in the northeast (possibly the basis of some of the estate tax estimates given in the book). So where you live could determine how much insurance you will want to leave to your heirs to cover estate taxes. Bottom line is you need to read the book and then do a little research to determine your best course of action, rather than blindly following the advice given. Or better yet, hire someone to help you with your estate plan. Having read the book, I feel better equipped to talk to a professional intelligently and present my unique situation. I consider the time taken to read the book well spent, and I would recommend the latest version to friends with IRA accounts.

Ed does a good job of leading you around the do's, the don'ts, and the can do's of IRA's and other retirement accounts 401(k)'s, 403(b)'s, and 457's. He uses concrete examples to demonstrate the calculations required, and he has a sense of humor about the tax traps and degree of complexity in the IRS rules. I learned a lot and had fun doing so.

The "time bomb" is all about how to ensure that whatever remains in your tax deferred retirement account (IRA, 401K, HSA, etc) is passed along to your kids (or whoever) AFTER you die and to keep it out of probate court. The solution is to name both primary (usually your spouse) and contingent (usually your kids) beneficiaries for these accounts. Pretty basic advise. He also discusses how to do the same with a bank checking/savings account by filling out a Payable-on-Death (POD) form (available from your bank) or Brokerage account via a Transfer-on Death (TOD) form (available from your broker). Again, very basic advise.

Information is right to the point and very helpful to have when making financial investment decisions especially during retirement.

This book could not be more informative about the construct and framework of an IRA (and its taxation) if it was named, 'The Dictionary of IRA Taxation'! If you are looking for a step by step way to save your retirement funds from future pitfalls and get your beneficiaries (and their loved ones) off to a running start in their life, look no further than this text! Concise, and to the point, with some examples and personal stories thrown in to balance the dry topics of accounting and taxes, Mr. Slott takes you from Retirement 101 to the upper division courses in one fell swoop! Leverage the knowledge that's in here and use it to safeguard you and your families! Thank you for this tome on how to keep what's ours!!!

My wife and I have found this book a great reference for protecting assets during our retirement. I would recommend this book for those that want to protect what they have saved and to ensure that you don't pay taxes unnecessarily while in retirement. Helping you save more always makes more sense and the author provides a number of practical examples as well as examples of what not to do. With the 2018 tax law changes this book is a little out of date but overall the message of this book is still well within scope for those that want to save and extend their retirement savings.

The advice in this comprehensive book is worth many times the price of the book. Ed knows his stuff but more importantly...is a powerful communicator. He understands people and uses humor to drive key points home. You walk away retaining key points.