Entrust's Revolutionary IRA Debit Card(SM) Provides Unparalleled Convenience & Flexibility

First-Of-Its Kind Card Facilitates Immediate Access to IRA Funds for Investment Purchases, Making It Easy to Pay for Goods and Services or Take Distributions at ATMs

RENO, Nev., Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The Entrust Group(R) (www.theentrustgroup.com), the leading administrator of self-directed retirement plans, today announced the introduction of the first-ever IRA Debit Card(SM) product together with The IRA Card Checking Account(SM) service. Called the Entrust IRA Card Checking(SM) service, these new offerings provide an innovative, easy, convenient way for self-directed IRA account holders to purchase new, or improve existing, IRA assets, or take required minimum distributions from the available funds in their retirement accounts. Self-directed IRA account holders can use Entrust's IRA Debit Card(SM) product, which is marketed under the Visa(R) brand, to pay for goods or services wherever Visa is accepted. It can also be used at ATMs around the world for cash withdrawals.

Hugh Bromma, Entrust's CEO, noted that "Entrust's ground-breaking IRA Card Checking(SM) service -- both the IRA Debit Card(SM) product and The IRA Card Checking Account(SM) service -- provides our account holders with a simple, handy, easy-to-use way to purchase an asset for their self-directed IRA (such as making a loan or purchasing precious metals), improve an existing IRA asset (i.e., building an addition onto a real estate investment property inside an IRA) or take a required minimum distribution (RMD)." Bromma added that the IRA Debit Card(SM) product builds upon the popularity of the "checkbook IRA," providing debit card convenience, anywhere Visa is accepted, and/or the flexibility to use a check at a merchant that doesn't accept Visa. Entrust clients can opt for The IRA Debit Card(SM) product, The IRA Card Check(SM) product, or both.

Entrust's IRA Debit Card(SM) product and The IRA Card Checking Account(SM) service stand in stark contrast to the much-maligned 401 (K) cards, which allow people to take loans from their retirement accounts. "Unlike other retirement plan-linked cards, our IRA Debit Card(SM) product and IRA Card Checking(SM) service do not have, or allow for, loans of any kind. Those are prohibited transactions. All available funds must be un-invested in the IRA (minimum $1,000 opening balance). Any transaction that is not an expense or asset purchase, for the IRA, is viewed as a distribution and will be administered as such," Mr. Bromma added.

Specifically, all IRA Card Checking(SM) transactions are considered distributions unless proven otherwise. Account holders have 30 calendar days, following a transaction, to submit the proper documentation to show that the expenditure was for an IRA asset. If the documentation does not reflect this, Entrust is legally required, and will file, reports to the IRS that indicate the amount of the payment taken from the IRA in question (IRS Form 1099-R).

It is also impossible to overdraw on an Entrust IRA Card Checking(SM) account because, whether using the IRA Debit Card(TM) product or The IRA Card Checking Account(SM) service, an individual is limited to only the funds that have been transferred to their IRA Card Checking(SM) account from the un-invested funds within their IRA. Any transaction that would exceed the account's limit would be declined.

For people who are of the age that they must begin to take required minimum distributions -- starting at 70 1/2 years of age -- distributions can be taken seamlessly at any ATM, making this the most convenient way for people to access their money.

About The Entrust Group(R)

The Entrust Group(R) is the world's premier provider of account administration services for self-directed retirement plans. For more than 25 years, Entrust has been an acknowledged authority in the field of self-directed retirement accounts. Entrust is the only self-directed IRA administrator that serves you right in your community. Entrust affiliate offices are staffed with experts in law, finance and business, all with first-hand experience in self-directed accounts.