Individuals Retirement Arrangements - Getting Started
IRAs allow tax-deferred investment now for financial security when you retire.
Assess your financial needs
- Where am I, financially? The Securities and Exchange Commission can help you evaluate your financial situation.
- What will my Social Security retirement benefit be? Calculate what you can expect as your Social Security retirement benefit.
- How much will I need when I retire? Use the American Savings Education Council (ASEC) calculator to estimate what you'll need.
- The Department of Labor website also has retirement planning information.
Set up your IRA
- What kind of IRA best suits my needs? Traditional IRA or Roth IRA?
- Traditional vs. Roth IRA comparison chart
- You can set up an IRA with a:
- bank or other financial institution,
- life insurance company,
- mutual fund or
- stockbroker.
- How should I invest my IRA? We can't give you advice about specific investments, but this Securities and Exchange Commission information will help you get started.
- See The IRS Does Not Approve IRA Investments, Publication 3125
See Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) for information on how your IRA works.
- Setting up an IRA
- Contributions to an IRA
- Transferring money or property to and from an IRA
- Handling an inherited IRA
- Distributions (withdrawals) from an IRA
- Taking a credit for contributions to an IRA
- A comparison of traditional and Roth IRAs
Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 2013-04-18
