401(k)s & IRA for Dummies

by Ted Benna, Brenda Watson Newmann (with)

From the basics down to investing, get the most out of your 401(k) and IRA in any economic environment

When you're ready to start setting aside (or withdrawing) money for your retirement--whenever that might be--401(k)s & IRAs For Dummies is here for you! It covers both types of retirement plans because they each have valuable tax benefits, and you may be able to contribute to both at the same time. With the practical advice in this book, you learn how to manage your accounts, minimize your investment risk, and maximize your returns. Sounds like a win-win, no matter your situation or where you're at in life.

Written by a well-known expert and 'father of the 401 (k)', Ted Benna, 401(k)s & IRAs For Dummies helps you keep up with the ever-changing rules surrounding both retirement plans--including the rules from the SECURE and CARES Acts--and avoid the mistakes that can lead to higher taxes and penalties. Additional topics include:

Tax strategies before and after retirement Required distributions and how much you need to take Penalties for taking money out early and how to avoid them What happens to your or your spouse's retirement plan after death or divorce The rules for taking money out of an inherited plan Methods for calculating required minimum distributions Special tax benefits for conversions to Roth IRAs How to recharacterize IRA or Roth contributions Why IRA based plans are a better options for many small employers Helping solo entrepreneurs and other small businesses pick the right type of plan Whether you're just starting to think about a retirement plan, planning when to retire, or you're facing retirement, you'll find useful and practical guidance in 401(k)s & IRAs For Dummies. Get your copy today!

Genres: Nonfiction, Finance

352 pages, Paperback

Published October 26, 2021

Reviews

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid resource for learning about different retirement accounts. It has some kinda weird asides that are probably supposed to be funny but they're easy enough to ignore.

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have liked it better if it really was for dummies. It assumes the reader already has a working knowledge of 401Ks and IRAs, which I do not. I had hoped to find a book that would break it all down into elementary information, but this is not that book.
Good book otherwise, I suppose. It's hard to tell when I don't truly understand what they're talking about.

[Ashley Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I would of got more out of this if I read it physically so that I could see the tables. I listened to the audiobook and it was a lot of information to take in.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this was a very informative book and helped me understand more about 401ks and IRAs than I did when I started. However, it was very dry and seemed to have less humor in it than other For Dummies books I've read. There was also a lot of technical stuff that was just difficult to take in. For instance, he'd explain different scenarios about how you could make X amount of money by investing it in this sort of plan whereas you'd make Y amount doing it this way, but he'd just throw all the numbers at you and it wasn't always entirely clear where the numbers were coming from. I'm very visual, so I would have appreciated both the written description and an equation showing the same concept. He just threw a lot of technical stuff out there in a short amount of time and only once, and then other basic concepts would get rehashed over and over and over again even though I got it pretty well the first time. I usually come away from a For Dummies book feeling smarter about the subject, and while I did learn some new things, in a lot of ways, I still felt pretty dumb.