26 pages. Excerpt: Federal legislation passed in 2006 affords participants and beneficiaries of eligible retirement benefits new distribution options that can result in the reduction or deferral of federal income taxes. These new distribution options may have the domino effect of making rollovers to IRAs a more desirable funding vehicle. If this occurs, the continued interest in self-directed IRAs (i.e., in which the IRA owner is not limited to the IRA trustee's or custodian's investment options, but instead can choose his or her investment options) will become increasingly marketed by custodians. There is particular interest in self-directing in real estate investments. This article first explores the new benefit distribution options and then discusses the practical and legal issues that IRA owners should consider before making self-directed investment decisions, especially with respect to real estate investments.  MORE >>