IRA Resources

More and more companies have eliminated traditional pension plans, and individual retirement accounts are becoming a cornerstone of many workers' retirement plans. So it only makes sense to take some time to make sure you are taking maximum advantage of these plans. Follow these strategies and tips to make the most of your IRAs.

Strategy 1: Start early

Lots of young people (and…

In 2014, the income limit for Roth contributions is $129,000 for single filers and $191,000 for married couples filing jointly. For high-income earners who earn too much to contribute to a Roth IRA directly, the only method of getting new assets into a Roth IRA is to go in through the backdoor, opening traditional nondeductible IRAs, then converting those accounts to Roth IRAs.…

“What are the chances that I'll lose my job?” Unless you're a retiree, a tenured college professor, or the owner of a business, that question has probably passed through your mind at least a few times over the recent years. Even if you're confident about the security of your current position, it never hurts to put in place a good safety net. Some of the primary steps are outlined below.

In the past, retirement planning used to involve two planning stages: the accumulation of assets, and the distribution of assets. Nowadays, there may be three periods to consider: accumulation, transition, and distribution. “Transition” can be defined as the period between full employment and full retirement when a person is working on a reduced or part-time basis.

The tax-deferred compounding you get via an IRA or a company retirement plan enables you to grow your savings without having to fork over taxes on your investment earnings year in and year out. However, at some point, required minimum distributions, or RMDs, will take effect. All retirees must begin taking RMDs from their tax-deferred retirement plans by April 1st of the year following the…

The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) is an organization founded in 1978 with the mission of encouraging and contributing to the development of sound employee-benefit programs. Every year, the EBRI publishes a retirement confidence survey. The 2012 survey interviewed 1,003 workers and 259 retirees in order to find out their confidence in being able to meet retirement financial goals…

Contemplating whether to contribute to a Roth IRA or a defined contribution (DC) plan (such as a 401k)? Words of advice: Follow the money! If your company offers you a match for your DC plan contribution, you should keep investing in the account up to the maximum percentage that it will match. This is free money, and you won't find a better deal any…

In 2013, contribution limits for both traditional and Roth IRAs (individual retirement accounts) will increase to $5,500 a year for those 49 years of age or younger. If you are 50 or older, the maximum contribution is $6,500. This limit can be split between a traditional and a Roth IRA. These annual contribution limits are imposed by the Federal Government.

The graph shows both a $4,…

If you want to take a tax- and penalty-free withdrawal of the portion of a Roth that consists of investment earnings (amount above your initial contribution), you need to be age 59 1/2, disabled, or using the money to pay for a first-time home. However, there’s more to this rule.

The five-year clock doesn't start on the day you opened or funded your Roth IRA account. Rather, it starts…

Investors often ask the question, “Are money-market funds FDIC insured like certificates of deposit and savings accounts?” The short answer is no, money-market fund holders don't have the same guarantees that holders of CDs, money-market deposit accounts, and checking and savings accounts have. However, money-market fund investors were accorded extra protections when the financial crisis…