Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Accelerated IRA Distributions

The Senate has proposed mandating that withdrawals from inherited IRAs be made within 5 years of the death of  the IRA owner.  The purpose of the legislation is to accelerate income tax revenues.  I agree with this proposal.  IRAs receive preferential income tax treatment because they are intended for retirement.  They were not created to distribute wealth from generation to generation in an income tax advantageous manner.