Jim and Chris are joined by Jake to discuss listener questions on SSA-44 and IRMAA surcharges, inherited IRA spousal rollover rules, long-term care insurance benefit caps, and ACA tax credits.

(4:45) George asks whether an unexpected W-2 stock option payout in 2025 could support filing SSA-44 to reduce 2027 IRMAA surcharges, especially if he stops consulting income afterward.

(12:00) A listener asks whether SSA-44 can be used retroactively to request a refund of 2025 IRMAA surcharges after a job loss pushed MAGI below the threshold.

(18:15) Georgette asks whether she can take withdrawals from her deceased spouse’s inherited IRA without penalty and still later move the remaining balance into her own IRA.

(28:00) The guys address why long-term care insurance policies often have a lifetime benefit cap and whether benefits can run out during an extended care event.

(46:45) Chris and Jake cover whether long-term capital gains count toward the modified adjusted gross income used for ACA tax credits and can affect eligibility.

The post IRMAA, Inherited IRA, LTC, ACA Tax Credits: Q&A #2602 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

If you want to skip over some weather banter you can go to (14:15).

Chris’s Summary
Jim and I review Roth IRA mistakes and walk through key rules on earned income eligibility, income limits, spousal contributions, excess contributions, and qualified distributions. We use an Investopedia article as a framework, clarify how MAGI impacts Roth eligibility, explain the October 15 correction deadline, and break down the two-prong test for tax-free Roth earnings withdrawals, including how the five-year rule is measured across tax years.

Jim’s “Pithy” Summary
Chris and I kick off the first EDU show of 2026 by taking an Investopedia piece called “11 Mistakes to Avoid with Your Roth IRA” and using it as our launchpad. We’re not reading the article to you—we’re breaking down what they got right, what they explained too loosely, and what they left out that changes the meaning. We start with the basics that still trip people up: you need earned income to contribute, and a lot of income that feels “earned” (like dividends, interest, rental income, or IRA distributions) doesn’t count. Then we pivot to the opposite problem: earning too much and accidentally making an ineligible Roth contribution because your MAGI crossed the line, often after a late bonus or surprise taxable payout.

We get into a category of mistakes that can create problems with the IRS: excess contributions. We walk through how easy it is to overfund a Roth when you have multiple accounts, and why the correction rules matter more than most people realize. We talk about the October 15 deadline, how the custodian won’t stop you, and why “removing the excess” isn’t always the same as removing what you deposited. We also get into the weird but real quirk where, if you miss the correction deadline, you may only need to remove the excess contribution itself, not the growth tied to it.

We also dig into the qualified distribution rules for Roth earnings, because this is where the five-year rule gets misunderstood. The Roth has to be five tax years old, and you need a qualifying condition—59½ is one, but it’s not the only one. That’s where the article oversimplifies, and where people make avoidable mistakes when taking earnings out too early.

Show Notes: Article – 11 Mistakes to Avoid With Your Roth IRA

The post Roth IRA Mistakes: EDU #2601 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

Jim and Chris discuss listener emails on Social Security claiming strategies, deemed military wages, and survivor benefits timing, a PSA from Jim and Chris on their New Year’s resolution, and QLAC use for inherited IRAs.

(11:00) A listener asks whether a spouse who will be collecting spousal benefits should ever delay claiming past full retirement age and also asks for retirement drawdown calculator recommendations.

(24:30) George asks how veterans can verify that deemed military wages were credited correctly to their Social Security earnings record.

(36:00) The guys address whether a surviving spouse can keep both Social Security checks after a spouse dies after being given conflicting answers from the Social Security Administration.

(45:00) Jim and Chris share a PSA on their New Year’s resolution relating to estate planning.

(1:02:45) A listener asks whether an inherited IRA can be used to purchase a QLAC with payments starting at age 84.

The post Social Security, Deemed Military Wages, Estate Planning, QLACs: Q&A #2601 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

Chris’s Summary
Jim and I review new MYGA variations and examine how insurers and product developers are marketing hybrid annuity designs using MYGA language. We walk through four examples from an April 2025 article—“Lockdown,” “Minimum Accumulation Guarantee,” “Extra Extra,” and the “End-of-Term Equity Kicker”—and explain why these products, despite being labeled as MYGAs, rely on index-linked features and do not behave like traditional MYGAs.

Jim’s “Pithy” Summary
Chris and I spend this episode talking through an article from earlier this year that highlights where the annuity industry seems to be headed. While not all good or all bad it centers on something I don’t think needed fixing in the first place. A MYGA is simple. It’s predictable. It’s easy for people to understand. It looks a lot like a CD (minus the FDIC protection, of course) issued by an insurance company, with a guaranteed rate for a defined period of time. That simplicity is exactly why we use MYGAs in our retirement plans for principal protection to cover near-term spending, including the delay period Minimum Dignity Floor and early Go-Go spending.

What the article describes are four designs that are being positioned under the MYGA label, even though they introduce index-linked elements that change how the product behaves. The names alone tell you this is marketing at work. “Lockdown,” “Minimum Accumulation Guarantee,” “Extra Extra,” and the “End-of-Term Equity Kicker” are all attempts to add features that sound appealing while keeping the comfort of the MYGA name. In reality, these designs are borrowing from the fixed indexed annuity world and layering those ideas onto something that was not originally intended to work that way. But I’m not at all surprised that the insurance industry couldn’t leave well enough alone and took something simple and practical and complicated it with these new MYGA variations.

The post New MYGA Variations: EDU #2553 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

Jim and Chris discuss listener emails on Social Security filing timing and online claiming language, a listener PSA on IRMAA and the online SSA-44, ACA income planning before Medicare, an IRA to HSA transfer, and annuity income needs.

(6:45) The guys address how to word an online Social Security application so the first check is paid for a specific month when claiming at age 70, and whether applying 2–3 months before the 70th birthday is the right approach.

(14:00) A listener shares a PSA on filing SSA-44 online after retirement, including how IRMAA recalculations reflected estimated future-year income and how the resulting tier was communicated in the approval letter.

(25:00) Jim and Chris discuss whether it makes sense, from a planner’s perspective, to stop working and manage income in a way that keeps health insurance affordable until Medicare eligibility.

(38:45) George asks about doing the once-in-a-lifetime tax-free IRA-to-HSA transfer, how the HSA testing period works, and whether it’s worth doing before starting Medicare to reduce future RMDs.

(49:00) A listener asks whether annuity income is still useful for covering a minimum dignity floor gap when assets are high and spending needs are modest, and how to think about guaranteed income given planned retirement timing and gifting goals.

The post Social Security, IRMAA, ACA Planning, IRA to HSA Transfer, Annuities: Q&A #2552 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

Chris’s Summary
Jim and I are joined by Steve Sansone as we discuss cash balance plans and explain how they function as hybrid defined benefit plans that present as account-based arrangements. We cover who these plans are designed for, including high-income business owners and professional groups, how age and employee demographics affect feasibility, and why allowable contribution levels can far exceed defined contribution limits. We also outline nondiscrimination rules and how they are applied, employer commitment requirements, and other general setup considerations.

Jim’s “Pithy” Summary
Chris and I are joined by Steve Sansone as we take a deeper dive into cash balance plans and why they show up in very specific situations, not as a one-size-fits-all solution. Steve explains how these plans sit in the defined benefit world but look like a defined contribution account, which is where a lot of confusion starts. We spend time on who they’re actually built for, why high-income professionals tend to be the ones asking about them, and why the contribution numbers can look startling if you haven’t seen the mechanics before.

We also talk through the tradeoffs, because these plans are not free money and they are not magic. Steve walks through how demographics drive everything, why age gaps between owners and employees matter, and how employer contributions to staff are part of the deal. We discuss why, in the wrong situation, these plans can pour fuel on the fire of a future tax problem, and why, in the right situation, they can make sense when paired with intentional planning during the retirement tax planning window before required minimum distributions begin. We frame that discussion around the same planning lens we use elsewhere on the show, including how the 2-1-0 Tax Ordering Number concept helps evaluate whether the front-end tax benefit is worth the back-end complexity.

The post Cash Balance Plans Explained: EDU #2552 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

Jim and Chris discuss listener emails on Social Security spousal eligibility and claiming coordination, a listener PSA on Social Security proof of marriage requirements, RMD planning while still working, money market earnings in brokerage accounts, and using QLACs for long-term care planning.
(16:15) Georgette asks whether the repeal of WEP and GPO affects her eligibility for a spousal benefit if her ex-husband worked for the federal government and she did not pay into Social Security.
(26:45) A listener asks how Social Security works when one spouse lacks enough work credits for their own benefit and only qualifies for a spousal benefit, including whether both spouses must claim at full retirement age to access that benefit.
(42:00) The guys address a PSA on why Social Security may already have proof of marriage on file for one spouse due to a name change but still requires documentation from the other spouse when benefits are claimed.
(49:30) Jim and Chris discuss whether maximizing pre-tax retirement contributions and rolling a SEP IRA into a 403(b) can reduce or eliminate RMDs under the still-working exception.
(1:06:45) A listener questions the statement that Money Market earnings are minimal, pointing to current yields in a fund they hold.
(1:12:00) The guys respond to feedback on whether a QLAC could be an effective way to address long-term care planning when self-funding alone does not feel sufficient.

The post Social Security, RMDs, Money Market Earnings, QLACs: Q&A #2551 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

Chris’s Summary
Jim and I are joined by Jake Turner as we cover the Math Act and a set of shorter EDU topics Jim has been collecting. We start with an SSA-44 update, including listener and client feedback on submitting the IRMAA redetermination form online through an SSA.gov account. Jake explains how IRS “math error” notices work today, why they’re often vague, and what the new law requires for clearer explanations and response deadlines. Jim then walks through the Automatic IRA Act’s proposals, including an annuity-style “protected lifetime income solution” requirement over certain balances, and we close with a quick way to sanity-check MYGA rates using AnnuityRateWatch’s yield curve.

Jim’s “Pithy” Summary
Chris and I are joined by Jake Turner as we bounce from Social Security admin housekeeping to Washington trying, yet again, to make the IRS act like it’s talking to actual humans—starting with the Math Act. If you’ve ever opened one of those IRS letters that basically says “you owe us money” without showing you how they got there, you already know why this matters. Jake lays out what those notices are really doing behind the scenes, why clients forward them to preparers in a panic, and what the new requirements are supposed to force the IRS to include so you can actually understand what they’re alleging and what happens if you don’t respond.

Then we pivot into the Automatic IRA Act, and I’ll be honest: I’m less interested in the political theater than I am in what it signals. There’s the small-business auto-enrollment concept—opt-out, no match requirement, and all that—and then there’s the part that made me laugh out loud when I saw who was cheering it on. Once you cross a certain 401(k) balance, the proposal would require employers to offer a “protected lifetime income solution,” which is just a polite way of saying “annuities are trying to get a bigger seat at the 401(k) table.” That opens up all the practical questions: what counts, who defines it, and how this intersects with the slow drift of defined contribution plans trying to behave a little more like pensions.

The post Math Act and Automatic IRA Act: EDU #2551 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.