- Investing With Your IRA: ETFs vs. Mutual Funds
Investing for retirement requires careful planning and informed decision-making. An individual retirement account (IRA) is a powerful tool for retirement savings, offering tax advantages that can significantly enhance your future financial stability. IRAs allow individuals to direct pre-tax income, up to specific annual limits, toward investments like mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which can… read more…
- Rules for Cashing Out Your IRA After Age 70
Cashing out an IRA after age 70 involves specific rules that depend on the type of IRA and the account holder’s age. Traditional IRA owners must begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) starting at age 73, while Roth IRAs don’t require RMDs during the original owner’s lifetime. The IRS taxes withdrawals as ordinary income unless… read more…
- Eligibility Requirements to Open a Roth IRA
Unlike traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs offer tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals in retirement. These unique tax advantages can lead to significant savings for the investor, making it an attractive retirement savings option. However, not everyone is eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA. In 2025, single filers with modified adjusted gross incomes (MAGIs) of $165,000… read more…
- SIMPLE IRA vs. Roth IRA: What’s the Difference?
A SIMPLE IRA (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) is primarily designed for small businesses, allowing both employees and their employers to contribute towards retirement savings. In contrast, a Roth IRA is a type of retirement savings account into which individuals deposit after-tax income, expecting tax-free earnings and withdrawals later on. Here is how they… read more…
- I Have $2.5 Million in a Roth IRA and Will Receive $2,500 Monthly From Social Security. Can I Retire at 62?
Retiring at age 62 and filing for Social Security will reduce a person’s lifetime benefits by up to 30% compared to waiting until their full retirement age. However, a person with $2.5 million in a Roth IRA may feel more comfortable retiring at age 62, despite the impact that early retirement will have on their… read more…
- How a Roth IRA Conversion Ladder Works
A Roth conversion ladder can be a smart strategy that allows you to move funds gradually from one account (traditional IRA) to another (Roth IRA) without triggering any tax penalties. This conversion takes place over several years, and is carefully planned out in advance. In simpler terms: A Roth conversion ladder could let you bypass… read more…
- Make the Most of a Roth Conversion With These Strategies from Schwab
Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA can help you minimize taxes in retirement. But executing the conversion strategically is key to maximizing the benefits. A Schwab retirement planning report recommends three tactics to reduce your Roth conversion tax bill: max out your current bracket, spread conversions over multiple years and start planning early… read more…
- Are IRAs or Roth IRAs FDIC-Insured?
Portions of your IRA may be protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). That will include any depository accounts that you hold in a depository institution, such as savings accounts or certificates of deposit with a savings bank. But this protection will not apply to investments, securities or any other IRA portfolios you hold elsewhere.… read more…
- What Is a Silver IRA?
A silver IRA is a self-directed individual retirement account that allows you to own silver and other precious metals in your portfolio. Investors sometimes use this type of account to hedge against inflation. There are pros and cons to consider before deciding whether this could be a good fit for your portfolio. A financial advisor… read more…
- Indexed Universal Life (IUL) vs. Roth IRA
If you’re torn between getting a life insurance policy and investing in the stock market, an indexed universal life (IUL) policy can serve both purposes. This product provides a death benefit to your heirs and returns based on index fund… read more…
- Can You Lose Money in a Roth IRA?
A Roth IRA gets favorable tax treatment that can help you accumulate funds for retirement. Despite the advantages, you can lose some or all of the money you put into a Roth IRA. One possible reason for a decline in… read more…
- Three Tips to Make the Most of Your IRA
An individual retirement account (IRA) is a very popular way to save for retirement — especially if you don’t have access to a workplace retirement account like a 401(k). While there are several important decisions to make when saving with… read more…
- What Is the Minimum Age for a Roth IRA?
Dollar for dollar, a Roth IRA is almost always the best retirement account you can have. They have lower contribution limits than a traditional 401(k), but other than that the advantages of this after-tax account can’t be beaten. If you… read more…
- Life Insurance vs. Roth IRA: Retirement Guide
When choosing where to set aside money for retirement, you need to weigh your options carefully. You’re likely going from one main income source to multiple smaller income sources when you retire. You may also want buy some security for your… read more…
- How a Roth IRA Grows Over Time
A Roth IRA can be a useful tool for accumulating the funds needed to pay for a comfortable lifestyle in retirement. That’s because it permits growth without owing taxes on investment gains, and also allows savers to withdraw funds in… read more…
- Roth IRA vs. 457(b) Retirement Plans
Roth IRA and 457(b) plans give savers tax-advantaged ways to fund a secure retirement. Almost anyone can open a Roth IRA account with after-tax dollars that then grow tax-free. Only state and local government employees can have 457(b) accounts but… read more…
- How to Open and Set Up a Self-Directed IRA
While most individual retirement plans focus on stocks and bonds, self-directed IRAs allow you to invest in a broader range of assets, from petting zoos and laser tag arenas to residential real estate and silver bars. This account type allows… read more…
- 6 Advantages of Roth IRAs: What You Need to Know
Opening an individual retirement account is an excellent step in retirement planning. However, you’ll face a choice when doing so: will you pick a Roth or traditional IRA? Your contributions to one count towards the total annual limit for both… read more…
- Switch to Roth Contributions If You Have This Much Money
Deciding whether to save in a pretax or Roth account for retirement just got a little easier – at least for people 50 and older. T. Rowe Price has pinpointed how much late-career workers who want to leave money to… read more…
- This Lucrative Retirement Tactic Dodged Biden’s Axe
President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law in August 2022. This is a trimmed-down version of the Build Back Better Act, a $1.75 trillion social spending initiative that had struggled to get votes in Congress. The expanded bill… read more…
- How to Roll Over a Pension into an IRA
Private sector employers that once offered workers traditional pensions, typically defined benefit plans, have been encouraging people to roll over their pensions into tax-advantaged plans like individual retirement accounts (IRA) and 401(k)s. If you’re considering such a move, it’s important… read more…
- Age Limits for IRA Contributions
When it comes to retirement savings, your age can have a major effect on things. Depending on which type of retirement account you have, your age may define both when you can access your funds and how much money you can… read more…
- IRA Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Table for 2026
An individual retirement account, more commonly referred to as an IRA, is a good place to save for your retirement. Once you reach a certain age, though, you’ll have to start taking a minimum amount out of your account each… read more…
- Roth IRA Withdrawal Rules and Penalties
Roth IRAs are one of the many ways you can save for retirement. Their key benefit – you can withdraw funds in retirement without paying taxes on the distributions – has made them very popular among tax-savvy investors. Still, there… read more…
- Roth 403(b) Plans: Rules, Tax Benefits and More
A Roth 403(b) plan is one type of tax-advantaged, employer-sponsored retirement savings account that combines elements of a Roth IRA and a traditional 403(b). While these plans share some similarities with 401(k) plans, they have certain characteristics that set them… read more…