Everything You Should Know About Stretch IRA Trusts
A Stretch IRA Trust is a trust designed specifically to receive retirement assets upon the death of the account holder. While colloquially known as a Stretch IRA Trust or an IRA Stretch Trust, these trusts can be used for any IRA, 401(k), 403(b), SEP, ROTH, 457 plan, or similar retirement account. Broadly speaking, the purpose of a Stretch IRA Trust is to allow the owner of a retirement account to leave money to a beneficiary in a tax efficient manner while also protecting the funds from creditors.
The easiest way to understand what a Stretch IRA Trust is and how it works is to take a step back and look at how retirement accounts work in general when the account holder passes away. After all, a Stretch IRA Trust only becomes funded after the death of the account holder and only if the Stretch IRA Trust is named as a beneficiary.