5 Reasons to Protect Your Retirement Accounts Now

During your lifetime, your retirement account has good asset protection, but as soon as you pass that account to a loved one, that protection could evaporate. Your lifelong, hard-earned savings could be gone.

Fortunately, there is a solution. A special trust called a Standalone Retirement Trust (SRT) can protect inherited retirement accounts from creditors, bankruptcy trustees and divorce. An SRT prevents your beneficiaries from cashing out the retirement account in one lump sum, which has tax ramifications and a loss of stretching out the investment. If you’re like most people, you’re thinking of protecting your retirement account so your family can benefit from it. Here are 5 reasons to protect your retirement account:

1. You have substantial combined retirement plans. Spouses can use an SRT to shield one or the other from creditors.

2. You believe your beneficiary may be “less than frugal” with the funds. Anyone concerned about how their beneficiary will spend the inheritance should absolutely consider an SRT, as you can provide oversight and instruction on how much they receive, and when.

3. You are concerned about lawsuits, divorce, or other possible legal actions. If your beneficiary is part of a lawsuit, is about to divorce, file for bankruptcy, or is involved in any type of legal action, an SRT can protect the inherited retirement accounts from those creditors.

4. You have beneficiaries who receive assistance. If one of your beneficiaries receives, or may qualify for, a need-based governmental assistance program, it’s important to know that inheriting from an IRA may cause them to lose those benefits. An SRT can be drafted to avoid disqualification.

5. You are remarried with children from a previous marriage. If you are remarried and have children from a previous marriage, your spouse could intentionally (or even unintentionally) disinherit your children. You can avoid this by naming the spouse as a lifetime beneficiary of the trust and then having the remainder pass onto your children from a previous marriage after your spouse’s death.

You’ve Worked Hard To Protect & Grow Your Wealth – Let’s Keep It That Way

Give Andy a call at (480) 653-6770 and let him show you how an SRT helps you protect your assets as well as provide tax-deferred growth.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Standalone Retirement Trust?

A Standalone Retirement Trust is created to receive retirement assets after you pass away, so your trustee can distribute those assets to heirs as you see fit. This protects those assets from a number of complicated situations that can arise.