There is a lot that most people don’t know about Roth IRAs, as detailed in the article “9 Surprising Facts About Roth IRAs” from the balance. Some of them may surprise you.

Roth IRA contributions can be used for emergencies. In a perfect world, no one would ever need to use retirement money for anything but retirement, but because Roth contributions are not deductible, they can be withdrawn at any time, for any reason, without taxes or penalties. A Roth IRA can serve as an emergency fund. However, it needs to be noted that the funds you can withdraw do not include amounts that were converted to a Roth IRA or investment gains. Therefore, if you put $5,000 into a Roth IRA that grew to $6,000, you may only withdraw the $5,000 without taxes and penalties.

You might be able to use a non-deductible IRA to fund a Roth. If you make over a certain limit, you can’t contribute to a Roth IRA—or can you? Some people who keep other retirement money inside qualified retirement accounts are permitted to make a non-deductible IRA contribution every year and then convert that into a Roth. This is sometimes called the “backdoor Roth.” However, you’ll need to be careful, and you may need help. In some cases, you can even roll a self-directed IRA back into a company plan, so in future years you could use the backdoor Roth strategy without having to pay taxes on the converted amount. Get a professional to help you with this: mistakes can be expensive!

You may roll after-tax 401(k) contributions into a Roth IRA. Many employer plans let you make after-tax contributions and then, at retirement, these after-tax contributions can be rolled into a Roth IRA. Any investment gain on the after-tax contributions can’t go into the Roth, but the contributions can.

Roth IRAs have no RMDs (Required Minimum Distributions). There aren’t any age requirements for when you take money out, so there are no delayed tax bombs lurking. However, non-spouse heirs will have to take required distributions from an inherited Roth. The nice thing: they will be tax free.

You can contribute to both a SIMPLE IRA and a Roth IRA. As long as your income is within the Roth IRA limits, then you can contribute to both the SIMPLE and the Roth. The contributions to the SIMPLE IRA will be deductible, the Roth contributions will not be. This dual funding strategy lets you reduce taxable income now and have funds in the Roth accumulate for tax-free benefits in retirement. For the self-employed person, who is diligent about saving for retirement, this is a good plan.

Your employer plan may allow Roth contributions. Many 401(k) plans let you make Roth contributions. They are called “designated Roth accounts.” Check with your HR department to see if their plan let you choose which type of contribution to make. Some may be all or nothing, while others let you do some of each.

Age is not the key factor in determining whether or not to use a Roth IRA. The primary deciding factor here is your income bracket, your tax rate now and your expected tax rate during retirement. If your expected tax rate during retirement will be lower, the deductible contributions may be better. If your tax rate during retirement is going to be the same or higher in retirement, which is often the case for people with large IRAs or 401(k)s, then a Roth IRA may make a lot of sense, regardless of your age.

You might be able to make a spousal Roth contribution. Even if your spouse has no earned income, as long as you have an earned income, you can make an IRA contribution on their behalf. Many couples can double their tax favored retirement account savings by doing this.

Be careful about Roth conversions. As stated previously, mistakes here can become expensive, so don’t rely on online Roth calculators to manage conversions. Talk with an experienced professional who can help make sure that your numbers and your strategy fits with your personal retirement scenario. Every person and every situation is different, so planning needs to be specific to your needs.

Reference: the balance (August 13, 2019) “9 Surprising Facts About Roth IRAs”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys