FORMACIÓN DEL CERTIFICADO DE PROFESIONALIDAD MÓDULO FORMATIVO

The Code allows retirement plan death benefits to be distributed in annual instalments over the life expectancy of the participant’s Designated Beneficiary. ¶ 1.5.01. Although the general rule is that a Designated Beneficiary must be an individual (¶ 1.7.03), the regulations allow you to name a trust as beneficiary and still have a Designated Beneficiary for purposes of the minimum distribution rules. Reg. § 1.401(a)(9)-4, A-5(b), contains the IRS’s “minimum distribution trust rules” (also called the MRD trust rules).

If the participant dies leaving his retirement benefits to a trust that satisfies the MRD trust rules, then, for most (not all!) purposes of § 401(a)(9), the beneficiaries of the trust (and not the trust itself) “will be treated as having been designated as beneficiaries of the employee under the plan….” Reg. § 1.401(a)(9)-4, A-5(a).

The IRS calls a trust that passes these rules a see-through trust, because the effect of passing the rules is that the IRS will look through, or see through, the trust, and treat the trust beneficiaries as the participant’s Designated Beneficiaries, just as if they had been named directly as beneficiaries of the retirement plan, with two significant exceptions: First, “separate accounts” treatment is never available for purposes of determining the ADP for benefits paid to multiple beneficiaries through a single trust that is named as beneficiary; see ¶ 6.3.02(A). Second, a trust cannot exercise the spousal rollover option, even if it is a see-through. Reg. § 1.408-8, A-5(a). See ¶ 1.6.06.

Appendix C: Resources

This Appendix lists resources available to help professionals understand the minimum distribution rules. Prices, ordering information and features change constantly, so check with the vendor before placing an order.

Software

Most providers offer a downloadable demo at their web sites.

Brentmark Retirement Plan Analyzer. $570. Includes 6 months’ free maintenance; $179 annual update fee. Powerful feature-filled software to help planners analyze proposed plan distribution strategies from QRPs, IRAs and Roth IRAs (comparing multiple scenarios simultaneously), including income tax, estate tax and spousal rollover aspects. It also analyzes whether it is worthwhile to convert a traditional plan to a Roth IRA and computes pre-59½ SOSEPP distributions. The ideal user is an experienced planner with some training to understand the impact that changing assumptions has on outcome. For just running MRD and SOSEPP calculations (including MRDs for multiple beneficiaries), use Brentmark’s Retirement Distributions Planner ($224). Brentmark Software, Inc., 3505 Lake Lynda Drive # 119, Orlando FL 32817-8333; 1-800-879-6665 or 407-306- 6160; www.brentmark.com. The Brentmark web site has lots of free information and useful links; a top web site for professionals on retirement distributions planning.

Newsletters

Ed Slott’s IRA Advisor. Ed Slott, CPA, is one of America’s most knowledgeable retirement benefits

experts, plus he writes beautifully and is a great speaker. Each issue has in-depth discussion of practical retirement tax info by top practitioners. $125 for twelve 8-page issues per year (includes all back issues). Sent by mail (800-663-1340), or download (and find lots of other useful info) at www.irahelp.com.

Choate’s Notes, by Natalie B. Choate. Published irregularly, free for now, sent by regular USPS mail

to customers of Ataxplan Publications and to professionals who request it by handing in business card at a Natalie Choate seminar (or sign up at www.ataxplan.com). Each issue contains a short article on some aspect of planning for retirement benefits, plus other info of interest to estate planning professionals.

Steve Leimberg’s Employee Benefits and Retirement Planning Newsletter. E-mail-only. Expert

analysis of breaking news “as it happens, such as rulings, cases, and legislation. Written by Bob Keebler, Barry Picker, me, and others, edited by the incomparable Steve Leimberg, Esq. Includes 24-hr access to extensive database. $28 per month (includes all four of Steve’s newsletters). Indispensable. Visit one-time free or subscribe at www.leimbergservices.com. Access is provided free through membership in some Estate Planning Councils and possibly other professional associations, so check with yours. In addition to being a nationally recognized expert on estate

planning, retirement benefits, and life insurance, and a major supplier of helpful tools for our industry, Steve also has ready-to-go seminars for estate planners at www.Leimberg.com.

Quick Reference Guides

I highly recommend Denise Appleby’s “IRA Quick Reference Guides.” These are laminated charts neatly summarizing such subjects as what plan can be legally rolled over into what other plan (see “IRA Portability Quick Reference Guide”), the current limits on contributions to every type of plan (see “Rollover Chart and 2010 Limit Table”), and the distribution options/requirements for inherited plans and IRAs (see “IRA Beneficiary Options”). You will find yourself using these “cheat sheets” more than you expect. Purchase at http://www.applebyconsultinginc.com/. Denise also offers consulting services and a free newsletter.

Choate Special Reports

The following other publications by Natalie B. Choate are available for download at

www.ataxplan.com:

Special Report: Ancient History. This report contains text from prior editions of Life and Death Planning for Retirement Benefits and/or from past seminar materials covering rarely-

applicable grandfather rules as well as tax rules that are no longer effective (but that you may need to know because when you are trying to clean up tax questions from a back year). Subjects covered include: The minimum distribution rules for pre-2003 years under the proposed minimum distribution regulations; TEFRA 242(b) elections; pre-1987 403(b) plan balances; special averaging for participants born before 1936; federal estate tax exclusion for retirement benefits; pre-2010 limits applicable to Roth conversions; the 15 percent tax on excess retirement plan contributions and distributions; special tax treatment of 1998 Roth conversions; the limits applicable to Roth “reconversions” in 1998 and 1999; the suspension of MRDs for 2009; and qualified charitable distributions (2006–2009).

Special Report: When Insurance Products Meet Retirement Plans. This report provides full

detail on the minimum distribution rules applicable to defined benefit plans and annuity payouts from defined contribution plans (¶ 1.1.05); the income, gift, and estate tax treatment of life insurance held in or distributed from a qualified plan; and various special rules dealing with annuities in plans.