Retirement Plan Distributions & Rollovers

Navigate the complex rules governing retirement plan distributions under SECURE Act 2.0.

8 Units

Early Units (Foundation)

Building Skills

Advanced Concepts

Capstone/Synthesis

RMD Rules Under the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0

This unit examines required minimum distribution rules as modified by the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0, including starting age changes, calculation methods, penalty provisions, and planning strategies for managing RMD obligations.

20 minutes

Inherited IRA Rules & the 10-Year Requirement

This unit examines inherited IRA distribution rules following the SECURE Act, focusing on the 10-year requirement for most beneficiaries, eligible designated beneficiary exceptions, and proper distribution strategies to minimize tax burdens and avoid penalties for financial advisors and beneficiaries.

20 minutes

Roth Conversion Strategies & Tax Planning

This unit examines Roth IRA conversion strategies, including tax implications, optimal timing based on income and tax brackets, pro-rata calculation rules for accounts with non-deductible contributions, and multi-year conversion planning to minimize lifetime tax burdens for retirement savers.

20 minutes

Early Distribution Penalties & Exceptions

This unit examines early distribution penalty rules for retirement accounts, focusing on exceptions to the 10% additional tax under IRC 72(t), substantially equal periodic payment calculation methods, and strategies for accessing retirement funds before age 59½ while minimizing tax consequences and penalties.

20 minutes

Rollover Rules: 60-Day, Trustee-to-Trustee & One-Per-Year

This unit examines retirement account rollover and transfer rules, focusing on 60-day rollover requirements, one-rollover-per-year limitations, direct transfer advantages, mandatory withholding rules for employer distributions, and strategies to avoid inadvertent taxable distributions when moving retirement funds between accounts.

20 minutes

Qualified Charitable Distributions

This unit examines qualified charitable distribution strategies allowing IRA owners age 70½ and older to transfer up to $105,000 annually directly to charities, satisfying RMD requirements while excluding distributions from taxable income and providing tax benefits even for taxpayers who don't itemize deductions.

20 minutes

Net Unrealized Appreciation Strategy

This unit examines the net unrealized appreciation strategy for employer stock held in qualified retirement plans, focusing on tax treatment advantages, lump-sum distribution requirements, comparative analysis with rollover alternatives, and circumstances where NUA elections maximize after-tax retirement wealth.

20 minutes

Coordination of Multiple Retirement Accounts

This unit examines the coordination challenges and strategic opportunities when managing multiple retirement accounts, focusing on RMD calculation and aggregation rules, distribution sequencing strategies to minimize taxes, and optimization techniques for managing traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and employer plans simultaneously.

20 minutes

Learning Progression

This course is designed to be taken sequentially. Earlier units establish foundational concepts that later units build upon. While you can explore units in any order, following the numbered sequence provides the most coherent learning experience.