RMD fidelity

[quesyrah]

I’m waiting for fidelity to receive my affidavit and POA paperwork before they’ll talk to me, but I figured someone here could help explain this.

I’ve known my dad has a retirement account with fidelity because I pay his quarterly fee and he gets a deposit to his checking account every month.

I just got another letter in the mail from fidelity about a different account that I didn’t know he had (they definitely are different accounts. Different account number and different average daily balance). This is fantastic because I’m always worried about the day it all runs out (my parents memory care facility is about
$16,000 a month).

Anyway, it’s asking how much he wants to take for his required minimum distribution and I’m. It quite sure what that is or if it matters how much I take?

Any insight is great.

It’s been 5 months since I sold their house and took over their finances and I’m still learning everything! You’ve all been a great resource as I navigate this new chapter in life.

[dragon's breath]

It definitely matters. If you don't take enough out (the minimum) yourself, he could owe 50% excise tax on the amount he doesn't take.

www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/required-minimum-distribution-calculator

And the FAQ link within the first link: www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-required-minimum-distributions-rmds

[niq]

Do you have an elder care attorney in your state that you work with? They will know the ins and outs better than we do.

In general I think it's usually best to ... just take out whatever the minimum is. But it's hard to know without more of the picture.

[quesyrah]

Oct 29, 2021 21:25:53 GMT -5 niq said:

Do you have an elder care attorney in your state that you work with? They will know the ins and outs better than we do.

In general I think it's usually best to ... just take out whatever the minimum is. But it's hard to know without more of the picture.

I do not. What would I need them for? I’m asking genuinely, not snarky.

Once fidelity has my paperwork I know they can help me but I had never heard of a required minim distribution before.

[quesyrah]

Oct 29, 2021 21:25:40 GMT -5 dragon's breath said:

It definitely matters. If you don't take enough out (the minimum) yourself, he could owe 50% excise tax on the amount he doesn't take.

www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/required-minimum-distribution-calculator

And the FAQ link within the first link: www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-required-minimum-distributions-rmds

Thank you. The form doesn’t list what he should take, just asks him how much he wants. Hopefully fidelity will be able to advise me.

[moonpie]

I help my mom with her fidelity account, and when you log onto their online platform it shows you what the amount of the RMD is for the specific account.

The first year I was dealing with it I didn’t realize it needed to be done until the week of Christmas and I was so worried we couldn’t get done before the end of the year. I called them and they were excellent to work with. Maybe the best customer service I’ve ever experienced.

[RockNVoll]

I suggest Googling RMDs to get yourself up to speed on the whats and whys of it. Lots of info out there that will be more comprehensive (and efficient) than anyone here trying to type it all out.

Can you get the login for your dad's Fidelity account? Then you can see all the accounts he has there and do whatever you need to do without necessarily waiting for Fidelity. As a pp said, the Fidelity site will also show you the amount of your required minimum distribution and I believe you can set it up to automatically disburse every year.

[quesyrah]

Oct 30, 2021 13:02:46 GMT -5 RockNVoll said:

I suggest Googling RMDs to get yourself up to speed on the whats and whys of it. Lots of info out there that will be more comprehensive (and efficient) than anyone here trying to type it all out.

Can you get the login for your dad's Fidelity account? Then you can see all the accounts he has there and do whatever you need to do without necessarily waiting for Fidelity. As a pp said, the Fidelity site will also show you the amount of your required minimum distribution and I believe you can set it up to automatically disburse every year.

Yes, as soon as they get my paperwork on file they’ll set up a log in for me. So going forward I can handle everything myself online.

My dad does have one but we can’t get into it.

[niq]

Oct 30, 2021 0:05:03 GMT -5 quesyrah said:

Oct 29, 2021 21:25:53 GMT -5 niq said:

Do you have an elder care attorney in your state that you work with? They will know the ins and outs better than we do.

In general I think it's usually best to ... just take out whatever the minimum is. But it's hard to know without more of the picture.

I do not. What would I need them for? I’m asking genuinely, not snarky.

Once fidelity has my paperwork I know they can help me but I had never heard of a required minim distribution before.

If you're worried about your parents running out of money, it might be useful to at least set up a consult with one. On top of helping you navigate options for aging parents who are starting to run out of money, they can sometimes offer some basic financial advice given your parents' financial + health situation. But maybe you/your parents have a some sort of financial advisor already?

[quesyrah]

Nov 1, 2021 17:05:46 GMT -5 niq said:

Oct 30, 2021 0:05:03 GMT -5 quesyrah said:

I do not. What would I need them for? I’m asking genuinely, not snarky.

Once fidelity has my paperwork I know they can help me but I had never heard of a required minim distribution before.

If you're worried about your parents running out of money, it might be useful to at least set up a consult with one. On top of helping you navigate options for aging parents who are starting to run out of money, they can sometimes offer some basic financial advice given your parents' financial + health situation. But maybe you/your parents have a some sort of financial advisor already?

Thanks. Something to think about. My cousin is a CPA and has given me some advice along the way.

They aren’t going to run out of money any time soon, but with a $16K a month bill it’s certainly not going to last forever!

[dr.girlfriend]

Oct 30, 2021 15:46:37 GMT -5 quesyrah said:

Oct 30, 2021 13:02:46 GMT -5 RockNVoll said:

I suggest Googling RMDs to get yourself up to speed on the whats and whys of it. Lots of info out there that will be more comprehensive (and efficient) than anyone here trying to type it all out.

Can you get the login for your dad's Fidelity account? Then you can see all the accounts he has there and do whatever you need to do without necessarily waiting for Fidelity. As a pp said, the Fidelity site will also show you the amount of your required minimum distribution and I believe you can set it up to automatically disburse every year.

Yes, as soon as they get my paperwork on file they’ll set up a log in for me. So going forward I can handle everything myself online.

My dad does have one but we can’t get into it.

FYI, getting your own account is definitely the way to go.  My mom is 82 and my sister and I were just using her account information (at her request) to log in and Fidelity locked the whole account.  We had to create our own accounts and passwords and then apply for access.  I guess they keep track of IP addresses or whatever.  Kind of good that they are so on the lookout for fraud, but a little bit of a pain for us.

[bkseller13]

The IRS has a worksheet. You'll need to know what his balance was as of 12/31/2020. If his spouse is still living and more than 10 years younger, he'd use a different form, but here's the link to the main worksheet. www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/uniform_rmd_wksht.pdf

[quesyrah]

Nov 10, 2021 17:18:11 GMT -5 bkseller13 said:

The IRS has a worksheet. You'll need to know what his balance was as of 12/31/2020. If his spouse is still living and more than 10 years younger, he'd use a different form, but here's the link to the main worksheet. www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/uniform_rmd_wksht.pdf

Thanks!

Unfortunately fidelity didn’t accept my POA. I think they’re misinterpreting it, as I’ve been using it for months since my parents decline and no one else has said it’s not valid.

Now I’m scrambling to see how quickly their lawyer can help me get a document that they will accept. And hopefully it doesn’t cost too much.

ETA: by “their lawyer” I mean my parents lawyer who did their will & trust.