Starting an IRA

Written by Catherine Rein (last updated April 24, 2009)

I have been looking at several possibilities for retirement savings and opening an Individual Retirement Account has a number of advantages. They are easy to open and provide excellent tax savings.

Opening an IRA is a great way to invest for retirement and depending on the type of IRA you choose, you won't pay taxes on any money earned from investments until you withdraw the money from the IRA. Starting an IRA is as simple as following these steps:

  1. Select a Broker or Institution. There are numerous brokers and institutions to choose from. You should research your choice carefully and avoid high fees. Many IRA trustees will charge around $30 per year to maintain your IRA, but some do not charge a fee at all. You should look into online brokerages, they allow more control and offer inexpensive trading capabilities.
  2. Open Your Account. Some accounts will require a minimum deposit; others do not require a minimum to get started. If you are rolling over old 401k accounts to start your new IRA account, be sure to deposit the proceeds into the new IRA account within 60 days. Any longer and the money will be subject to taxes and penalties. 529 plans are a form of Educational IRA. Both categories of Educational IRAs, 529 college savings plans and pre-paid tuition are sponsored by states, state agencies or educational institutions. Pre-paid tuition plans lock in future tuition rates while college savings plans are based on market returns. Most 529 plans can be used to attend college in any state no matter which state plan you choose.
  3. 3. Select Your Investments. Once the account is open and funded it is time to make stock and mutual fund selections for your investments. The acronym, DABL, will help you remember a strategy for your investments. D stands for Diversification, A for Allocation, B for Buy and Hold and L stands for Long Term perspective. You should consider holding a portion of your portfolio in bonds in your IRA. Bonds produce higher rates of taxable income, while stocks typically generate much less income and that dividend income is taxed at a much lower rate—generally 15%. Since IRAs are tax protected this will reduce your tax burden while providing a well-diversified portfolio.

After you've set up your IRA investments with the maximum contributions and safe investments, you might consider alternative investments, such as real estate. Be aware that not every broker will be able to help invest in these alternatives and not all alternative investments are easy to sell.

Author Bio

Catherine Rein

MORE FROM CATHERINE

Ways for Teens to Make Money

Teens have a number of ways to make money, both traditional and newer online job opportunities. You can find work through ...

Discover More

Laser Tattoo Removal

Having a tattoo removed is quite common, over half of tattoo recipients change their mind and would like to have their ...

Discover More

Reversing a Vasectomy

There are about 30,000 to 40,000 men in the U.S. every year who decide to reverse their vasectomies in an effort to have ...

Discover More
More Money Tips

Saving Money for Retirement

Saving money for retirement should be the goal of everyone, though unfortunately not everyone takes the opportunity to do ...

Discover More

Different Kinds of IRAs

There are eleven different kinds of Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). They include IRAs for individuals and groups, ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 2 + 8?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)