Individual retirement accounts : a primer / Felix R. Burnes, editor.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Burnes, Felix R.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Individual retirement accounts--United States.

Individual retirement accounts.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (149 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Hauppauge, N.Y. : Nova Science Publishers, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This work looks at individual retirement accounts (IRA). It reveals how retirement and savings experts told the authors that barriers discouraging employers from offering these IRAs include costs that small businesses may incur for managing IRA plans, certain contribution requirements of some IRAs, and more.

Contents:

Intro

INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS: A PRIMER

CONTENTS

PREFACE

Chapter 1 RETIREMENT SAVINGS: HOW MUCH WILL WORKERS HAVE WHEN THEY RETIRE?*

SUMMARY

TRENDS IN RETIREMENT PLAN DESIGN

Growing Prevalence of Defined Contribution Plans

RETIREMENT SAVINGS OF AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS

Retirement Account Balances in 2004

HOW MUCH MIGHT WORKERS ACCUMULATE BY AGE 65?

Methods

WHAT IS "MONTE CARLO" ANALYSIS?

SIMULATION RESULTS: RETIREMENT ACCOUNT BALANCES AT AGE 65

Variability of Investment Rates of Return

Length of Investment Period

Household Earnings

SIMULATION RESULTS: MEASURING RETIREMENT INCOME ADEQUACY

Measuring Earnings Replacement Rates

Married Couples versus Singles

Detailed Simulation Results

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

CONCLUSION

APPENDIX

Chapter 2 RETIREMENT SAVINGS ACCOUNTS: FEES, EXPENSES, AND ACCOUNT BALANCES*

BACKGROUND ON FEES AND EXPENSES IN 401(K) PLANS

RESULTS

METHODS

Chapter 3 INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS (IRAS): ISSUES AND PROPOSED EXPANSION*

CURRENT RULES REGARDING INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS

Traditional (Front-loaded) IRAs

Roth (Back-loaded) IRAs

TAX CONSEQUENCES OF IRAS

When Traditional and Roth IRAs are Equivalent

Differences between Traditional and Roth IRAs

Variations in Tax Rates over Time

Contribution Limits

Nonqualified Withdrawals

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF IRAS

SAVINGS EFFECTS

DISTRIBUTIONAL EFFECTS

ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES

POLICY IMPLICATIONS OF TRADITIONAL AND ROTH IRAS

RECENT PROPOSALS

CONCLUSIONS

APPENDIX: A HISTORY OF IRA PROPOSALS

Chapter 4 TRADITIONAL AND ROTH INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS (IRAS): A PRIMER*

INTRODUCTION

IRA ASSETS AND SOURCES OF FUNDS

TRADITIONAL IRAS.

Eligibility

Contributions

Investment Options

Deductibility of Contributions

Withdrawals

Early Distributions

Rollovers

Inherited IRAs

ROTH IRAS

Eligibility and Contribution Limits

Conversions and Rollovers

Return of Regular Contributions

Qualified Distributions

Non-qualified Distributions

Distributions after Roth IRA Owner's Death

RETIREMENT SAVINGS CONTRIBUTION CREDIT

QUALIFIED DISTRIBUTIONS RELATED TO HURRICANES KATRINA, RITA, AND WILMA

Chapter 5 INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS GOVERNMENT ACTIONS COULD ENCOURAGE MORE EMPLOYERS TO OFFER IRAS TO EMPLOYEES*

ABBREVIATIONS

RESULTS IN BRIEF

BACKGROUND

Individual IRAs

Employer-Sponsored IRAs

IRAS HOLD THE MOST RETIREMENT ASSETS

IRA Assets Exceed DC and DB Plan Assets and Largely Come from Rollovers

Households with IRAs Tend to Have Higher Education, Higher Incomes, and Own Traditional IRAs

Similar Percentages of Households Own IRAs and Participate in 401(k) Plans, but IRA Contributions Are Lower Than Contributions to 401(k) Plans

COMPARISONS BETWEEN IRAS AND 401(K) PLANS ARE DIFFICULT

Barriers May Discourage Small Employers from Offering IRAs to Employees, and Many of These Employees Lack Access to Workplace Retirement Savings

Payroll-Deduction IRAs Could Help Workers Save, but Barriers May Discourage Employers from Offering a Payroll-Deduction IRA Program

Questions Remain on How Expanded Payroll-Deduction IRAs May Affect Employees

SIMPLE and SEP IRAs Can Help Workers to Save, but Several Factors May Discourage Employer Sponsorship

Proposals Exist to Encourage Employers to Offer and Employees to Participate in IRAs

IRS AND LABOR SHARE RESPONSIBILITY FOR OVERSEEING IRAS, BUT LABOR HAS NO PROCESS IN PLACE TO MONITOR IRAS AND DATA GAPS EXIST.

IRS and Labor Share Responsibility for Overseeing IRAs

Reporting Requirements for Employer Sponsored IRAs Are Limited

Labor Has No Process in Place to Monitor Employer-Sponsored and Payroll-Deduction IRAs

Regulators Lack Information and Consistent Reporting on Employer-Sponsored and Payroll-Deduction IRAs

MATTER FOR CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EXECUTIVE ACTION

AGENCY COMMENTS AND OUR EVALUATION

APPENDIX I: OBJECTIVES, SCOPE, AND METHODOLOGY

APPENDIX II: COMMENTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

APPENDIX III: COMMENTS FROM THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE

WHY GAO DID THIS STUDY

WHAT GAO RECOMMENDS

INDEX

Blank Page.

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-61470-084-2

OCLC:

768111356