individual retirement account (IRA)
Timothy Lake was an Editorial Intern at Encyclopædia Britannica.
Doug is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst who spent more than 20 years as a derivatives market maker and asset manager before “reincarnating” as a financial media professional a decade ago.
Before joining Britannica, Doug spent nearly six years managing content marketing projects for a dozen clients, including The Ticker Tape, TD Ameritrade’s market news and financial education site for retail investors. He has been a CAIA charter holder since 2006, and also held a Series 3 license during his years as a derivatives specialist.
Doug previously served as Regional Director for the Chicago region of PRMIA, the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association, and he also served as editor of Intelligent Risk, PRMIA’s quarterly member newsletter. He holds a BS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from Illinois Institute of Technology, Stuart School of Business.
An IRA is a personal, tax-deferred retirement account (or “arrangement”) that allows you to save and invest for your retirement years. You can set up an IRA with a financial institution and contribute up to a certain amount every year. There are four main types of IRAs:
- Traditional IRA. Anyone with earned income can generally contribute tax-deductible money to a traditional IRA retirement plan. Withdrawals from a traditional IRA before age 59 1/2 may be subject to early withdrawal penalties. As of 2023, the annual contribution limit for a traditional IRA is $6,500, or $7,500 for plan holders above the age of 50. Traditional IRA plan holders must take RMDs starting at age 73.
- Roth IRA. Roth IRA plan holders do not pay taxes on their withdrawals because they pay individual taxes on their contributions. Because of this, Roth IRA plans are appealing to people who believe their tax rates will be higher in the future. Plan holders can also withdraw their contributions early without penalty. However, any withdrawals of investment earnings before the age of 59 1/2 are subject to penalties. Roth IRA plans do not have RMDs. Anyone with earned income below the annual income threshold can contribute up to the limit, which for 2023 is less than $153,000 for a single filer, or $228,000 for joint filers.
- Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA. These tax-deferred plans are designed for people who are self-employed, small business owners, or earn additional self-employment income. SEP IRAs are often easier to administer than 401(k) plans, so many small businesses use them to help their employees prepare for retirement. Employers can make contributions for their employees up to the annual contribution limits: 25% of the business’s net income (after deducting half of their self-employment tax and contributions to their own SEP), up to $66,000 (as of 2023). This forms a percentage of an employee’s annual compensation. Account holders must take RMDs starting at age 73.
- SIMPLE IRA. These tax-deferred, employee-sponsored savings plans are designed for small businesses (usually fewer than 100 employees) to provide their employees with a retirement plan. Employees with SIMPLE plans can contribute themselves, and their employers can contribute as well. The employer can choose to match up to 3% of employees’ contributions dollar for dollar, or make nonelective contributions of up to 2% of the employees’ income without the requirement that employees also contribute. For employees, it’s important to note that if they make contributions to multiple employer-sponsored retirement accounts, including 401(k)s, the total contribution across all accounts is limited to $22,500 in 2023. Employee salary contributions are limited to $15,500, or $19,000 for those older than 50. SIMPLE plan holders must take required minimum distributions (RMDs) starting at age 73. Like SEP IRAs, there are now Roth contributions available for SIMPLE IRAs thanks to the SECURE 2.0 Act.