Nowadays, most Americans hold their wealth in retirement accounts. When it comes to
inheritance and estate planning, special considerations are necessary to ensure that these assets are protected and distributed according to the account holder’s wishes.
Retirement assets, such as IRAs, are typically passed via beneficiary designation. For example, for a married couple with children, it would be common to designate the spouse as primary beneficiary and children as secondary. However, in almost all occasions it is advantageous to name a trust—rather than a particular individual—as the designated beneficiary. Once the retirement account becomes inherited by a non-spouse beneficiary (i.e. children), it is important to understand that IRS regulations
treat this inherited retirement account differently. Specifically, once inherited, the beneficiary is obligated to begin taking required minimum distributions from such funds within a more immediate time horizon of either five years or over the beneficiary’s life expectancy. An IRA administrator will also offer the option of receiving the proceeds as a lump sum payment, which is very often discouraged, especially in the case of minor or financially irresponsible children. The preferred goal in planning for inheriting retirement assets is to maximize this window of time so that the tax-sheltered, long-term growth benefits of retirement accounts are maximized.
IRAs and other retirement instruments were designed precisely for a specific purpose: retirement. They were not intended as a savings mechanism for future generations. Tax laws work according to this assumption, and so foresight and planning are necessary when including such holdings in an estate to be passed on to beneficiaries. Trusts can serve as an appropriate conduit to protect and preserve these assets.
Some will consider a standard revocable living trust by default when structuring a retirement trust. This could cause unfavorable consequences, however, including a more fixed distribution schedule and the lack of creditor protection. Further, the IRS may a not consider the revocable living trust as a designated third party beneficiary, resulting in the assets becoming immediately, taxable income.
A Standalone Retirement Trust is a trust that is created for the sole purpose of serving as the beneficiary of the remainder of your IRA funds (and other qualified funds, e.g. 401(k)). Thus, the trust will be funded after you pass with whatever is left of your retirement assets. Then, the trustee of the Standalone Retirement Trust will oversee the distribution of the funds to your heir(s) in a manner you see fit.
A Standalone Retirement Trust will provide you with significantly greater control over the manner in which your remaining retirement funds are distributed to your loved ones, rather than just control who will receive the funds after you die—as is the case with leaving your IRA through a simple beneficiary designation.
Other potential benefits of Standalone Retirement Trusts include
- Asset protection in the event of a divorce;
- Creditor protection;
- Generation-skipping tax benefits;
- Special Needs/Supplemental Trust benefits;
- Alerts the beneficiary of any tax consequences of an immediate payout;
- Allows beneficiary’s to thinly stretch tax obligations over time;
- Alleviates the need for a court appointed guardian for minor beneficiaries
- Provides a beneficiary with asset protection in the event the beneficiary becomes disabled; and
- Allows for successor beneficiaries.
For more information on Standalone Retirement Trusts contact our office today.