Martin Silfen's “The Retirement Plan Distribution Book” is a comprehensive source of complicated retirement plan information that is actually easy to use.
The book clearly explains the options and intricacies of retirement accounts. It covers simple questions like the advantages of a Roth IRA versus a standard IRA. Silfen doesn't shy away from more complex issues, either. The chapter on minimum required distributions alone is 70-plus pages, with everything from basic information to arcane provisions such as Section 242(b) elections, a special provision in the 1982 tax law for business owners.
Throughout, Silfen does an admirable job of breaking up the dry matter into bullets, planning points and bold-faced caution sections. The material is detailed, but accessible.
Also covered in the book's nearly 500 pages are legal rights for participants, taxation before distribution, penalty taxes, rollovers, estate planning with retirement assets and life insurance in plans. Silfen includes a summary of retirement plans and terms.
“The Retirement Plan Distribution Book” is published by the National Underwriter Co. (ISBN 0872182525) and costs $44.95 from the NUC's Web site at www.nuco.com .