4-minute Money Ideas

What to Do When You Inherit an IRA? By Douglas Goldstein, CFP® - helping olim handle U.S., IRA, investment, and brokerage accounts from Israel If you inherit an IRA (Individual Retirement Account), you may be tempted to simply withdraw the funds and put them into your own name. But if you do, you would possibly be making a big mistake. Instead, you should transfer the money into a “beneficiary IRA” account. Money in an IRA is tax deferred in America, meaning that any interest, dividends, and capital gains inside the account are not subject to U.S. taxation. Once you withdraw the money, or move it overseas, you’ll probably owe money to the IRS. So by asking the brokerage firm to set up a beneficiary IRA for you, and moving the assets directly from the deceased’s IRA account into a beneficiary IRA in your name, you can continue to benefit from the tax-deferred status. Can I open a beneficiary IRA from Israel? Many Americans living outside the United States find that brokerage firms are not willing to set up an