Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Cheetahwoman7
If I have a retirement account at work, what other types of retirement accounts am I allowed to have?
|
You are allowed to have, in addition to your retirement account at work, an IRA and a Roth IRA, though I don't think (double-check on this) you can contribute to both in the same year. You can contribute up to $4,000 per year ($5,000 if you're over 50) to either a Roth IRA or a traditional IRA.
Quote:
|
Which type of account would allow me to put the MOST $$ away until retirement?
|
Since the limit's the same, either one. However, in a Roth IRA, your contributions grow tax-free. (the downside is, unlike in a traditional IRA, your contributions are not tax-deductible). So if you put $4000 a year in a Roth IRA, and in 10 years (with growth) your total is $50,000, you own the whole $50,000... If it was a traditional IRA, you'd have to pay taxes on the money as you withdraw it.
Quote:
|
Would a Roth be better than a regular IRA?
|
Depends on your age. If you have a long time to retirement, the benefits of the Roth (tax-free growth) outweight the downside (contributions not tax-deductible). If you are retiring in just a few years, the inverse is probably true- the downsides outweigh the advantage of tax-free growth, since it won't have a chance to grow much in 5 years or so.
Quote:
|
Should I still contribute to my "old" IRA, leave it alone, or roll it over into something else?
|
I'll leave that up to someone who knows more than me about all that stuff! I only have 1 IRA, (a Roth) and haven't had to deal with any rollover stuff. I don't know all the particulars.