The retirement savings time bomb--and how to defuse it: a five-step action plan for protecting your IRAs, 401(k)s, and other retirement plans from near annihilation by the taxman

"In THE RETIREMENT SAVINGS TIME BOMB, renowned accountant and "America's IRA expert" Ed Slott, shows the millions of Americans who have the majority of their assets (now upwards of $10 trillion, nation-wide) invested in such retirement plans as IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457s, Keogh plans, SEP-IRAs and Roth IRAs, how to avoid losing up to 90% in taxes when you start using the funds postretirement or want to bequeath them to your spouse and family after your death. The stand alone reader for IRA and retirement planning, this thorough guide is packed with answers to frequently asked questions, exercises, check-lists, strategies, and insider tips as well as amusing war stories, and more serious hard-learned lessons from Ed Slott's years of experience in the tax and accounting trade. Slott's clean and clear-cut terminology translates complicated tax law, codes, and equations into simply understood laymen concepts. In Ed Slott we have the perfect author: a recognized expert, sought after speaker, much-loved media personality. In The Retirement Savings Time Bomb we have the perfect guide, which will transform the country's tax illiterate into the tax savvy"--

Includes index.

Playing the "back 9" -- Talking the talk : a foolproof primer of essential, but often confusing, tax terms and definitions -- What to do with the biggest check you';; ever get. The crime of the century ; What's your risk IQ? ; Roll over, stay put, withdrawn, or convert? -- Five easy steps to protecting your retirement savings from the taxman. Step #1 : time it smartly ; Step #2 : insure it ; Step #3 : stretch it ; Step #4 : Roth it ; Step #5 : avoid the death tax trap -- When things don't go as planned. What to do when s*** happens -- Appendices. I, IRS joint life expectancy tables ; II, IRS tax forms and publications you should have (and where to get them) ; III, Sample beneficiary designation forms and "Stretch IRA" beneficiary information sheet.