Personal Finance Q&A: When to take Roth IRA distribution

Veteran personal finance journalist Robert Powell answers your questions for USA TODAY.

Q: When I take a distribution from my Roth IRA after age 59½, is there a requirement that I report investment gains? Janice Jackson, Jackson, Miss.

A: The beauty of Roth IRAs is the ability to grow the account tax free, says Gary Cotter, a certified financial planner with Cotter Financial in Sun City Center, Fla.

"Since you are over 59½, as long as you have had the Roth for at least five years, all the growth is tax free," says Cotter. "What's more, even if your account is less than five years old, a partial withdrawal of up to the total amount of your contributions to the account (and any amounts you may have converted from a traditional IRA) would be tax-free — because you have already paid tax on those dollars."

For more, visit the Internal Revenue Service's website, Roth IRAs.

Robert Powell is editor of Retirement Weekly, contributes regularly to USA TODAY, The Wall Street Journal and MarketWatch and teaches at Boston University.