How much in taxes should I have taken out of inherited IRA?

[Anonymous]

I have recently inherited an IRA.  I know that at a minimum they have to take 10% before they send to me.   How much should I have taken out prior to disbursement?  What I plan on doing with this money is saving it for now until the economy rebounds (sort of as an emergency fund) and then upgrading my home.   Also, what is the best way to invest the money in the interim?  I want something that I can get the rather quickly if I should lose my job but I would like to earn a decent interest rate (as good as possible in these times.)

Thank you

[MidnightVoice]

If in doubt, get an accountant!

When I was in that position, I cashed out all the IRAs and CDs (less than half a million, so no tax) and invested - and I used my accountant to advise me

[MattH]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I have recently inherited an IRA.  I know that at a minimum they have to take 10% before they send to me.   How much should I have taken out prior to disbursement?  What I plan on doing with this money is saving it for now until the economy rebounds (sort of as an emergency fund) and then upgrading my home.   Also, what is the best way to invest the money in the interim?  I want something that I can get the rather quickly if I should lose my job but I would like to earn a decent interest rate (as good as possible in these times.)

Thank you

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Unfortunately, so long as the Fed is keeping interest rates at record low levels in order to keep this anemic recovery going, the only way to get a decent return is by accepting some degree of risk. While many authors talk about this trade off, and emphasize the importance of knowing one's risk tolerance, in my opinion nobody does a better job of explaining how to think about financial risk better than Moshe A. Milevsky. Type that name into your favorite search engine or online bookstore.