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Roth Vs Traditional IRA: Which One Is Best For You?

When the idea of saving for retirement comes up, many people wonder whether a Roth vs Traditional IRA is better for them. There are many similarities between these two investment vehicles, but there are also enough differences to make this question a little more difficult than it seems.

We will look at some of the similarities and differences of these Individual Retirement Arrangements

Roth Vs Traditional IRA

Both a Roth and Traditional IRAs can be great options when it comes to saving money for retirement and a viable alternative to private or stakeholder pension plans. Before we take a look at Roth IRAs, let’s look at a couple of quick points regarding traditional IRAs, so you can better decide which may be the best retirement plan for you.

Traditional IRAs

One of the greatest benefits of a Traditional IRA is the fact that your contributions can grow freely, with the taxes that you owe being deferred until the money is distributed. This means that you receive the benefit of compound interest on all of our contributions, gains, and other earnings!

In most cases, the contributions that you make into a traditional IRA are fully or partially deductible – depending on your circumstances. That means that your taxable income is reduced by the amount that you contribute to a traditional IRA (if it is fully deductible).

An IRA usually provides more freedom than an employee sponsored retirement account when it comes to your investment options. You can invest in individual stocks, bonds, mutual funds, CDs, and even real estate! This helps to make an IRA an extremely attractive retirement vehicle.

Here is something that is usually seen as a negative feature of a traditional IRA. According to the IRS:

You cannot keep funds in a traditional IRA indefinitely. Eventually they must be distributed. If there are no distributions, or if the distributions are not large enough, you may have to pay a 50% excise tax on the amount not distributed as required.If you are the owner of a traditional IRA, you must generally start receiving distributions from your IRA by April 1 of the year following the year in which you reach age 70½.

That’s right – if you do not start withdrawing money from your account, the IRS will charge a 50% tax on the amount that should have been distributed! Before you become too outraged, remember that you received a tax deduction on your contributions, and you are not required to pay taxes on any gains until they are distributed. If you kept the money in your account indefinitely, it would never get taxed…there is no way that Uncle Sam will allow that!

You can read IRS Publication 590 (link to online version) in order to gain more information about Traditional IRAs, including calculating the required minimum distribution.

Roth IRAs

In looking at the “battle” of Roth vs traditional IRAs, there is no need to compare the investment opportunities since they are exactly the same. Unlike their counterparts, Roth IRAs do not give you a tax deduction upfront. This means that you will have to reach the IRA contribution limits with without the benefit of reducing your taxable income for the year.

Like the traditional IRA, your contributions, gains, and earnings will grow without being taxed – allowing compound interest to kick in! However, since your initial contributions were made with taxed dollars, you do not have to pay taxes when you take a qualified distribution from the account!!!

What this means is once you put money into a Roth IRA, you will never have to worry about paying taxes on that money (as long as you satisfy the requirements). For one thing, you have to keep your contributions in the account for at least five years before you can withdraw them with no penalty. Of course, since it is a retirement account, keeping the money invested for more than five years shouldn’t be a problem.

Another thing to consider with Roth IRAs is that you can make contributions to the account even after you turn 70 1/2 (something which you cannot do with a traditional account). On top of this, you are also able to leave amounts in your ROTH IRA for as long as you live. There are no required minimum distributions, and no taxes assessed for failing to make withdrawals – since the initial contributions were already taxed.

Roth Vs Traditional IRA – What’s Best For You?

Here is one of the keys to consider when trying to answer this question:

At what stage in your life will you be paying lower taxes? If now, then go with a Roth and pay lower taxes on your contributions, rather than paying taxes on your distributions when you are paying at a higher rate. If your lower taxes will come in retirement, then go with a Traditional IRA to get the tax break when your taxes are higher, and pay taxes on your contributions once you are in a lower bracket.

There are a couple of things that will affect your tax rate both now and in retirement.

The tax code – will future administrations raise taxes in order to pay for government spending?
Your income – will you have more taxable income now or in retirement? The answer isn’t as obvious as it might seem.
The amount in your retirement accounts – if you have a take several required distributions from large accounts, that can easily push you into a higher tax bracket.

There are other things to consider but since they are pretty much impossible to quantify, we will leave them for another discussion.

Photo Source: goodfinancialcents.com via Jeff on Pinterest

Reader Questions

Based on your situation, which IRA is best for you?
What do you think about having one of each?
At what point did you/will you start saving for retirement?

This post is a part of the Roth IRA Movement that my blogging buddy Jeff Rose at Good Financial Cents put together. The last time I checked, there are almost 150 websites that will be posting about the benefits of Roth IRAs! Even though the information is pretty standard, I am confident that each post will be different, because of the voice of the individual writing it! You can read my other post (which takes a more personal and informal look at this question) on my weight loss and debt repayment site here: Why Roth IRA is better than Traditional for us

The Best Retirement Plan For You

By Khaleef Crumbley

[The following is a guest post by Jeff Rose about finding the right retirement plan for you – see his complete bio below]

Do you have aspirations of an early retirement? If so, it is important to investigate all of your options and even more important to start saving for retirement now.

The Typical Retirement Plan Options:

Employer-Sponsored 401(k) Plan

A 401(k) is a savings plan created by employers. Eligible employees can make contributions directly from their paycheck without being taxed. Subsequent earnings are tax-deferred. Early withdrawals are subject to penalties. If a 401(k) Plan is offered to you through your place of employment, take advantage of it.

[Take a look at the current 401k contribution limits]

Many companies offer a matching program. This means that whatever you contribute is matched by your employer, usually up to 5 or 6% of your income. In order to receive these additional funds, you need to participate at a certain level in your 401(k) plan, but as long as you can do that, why wouldn’t you? Free money is hard to come by.

Individual Retirement Account (IRA)

Another popular plan with definite tax advantages is the Individual Retirement Account. With a traditional IRA, you save tax-deferred money that gets invested in a variety of ways. If you already have a 401(k) through an employer, you can save even more for retirement with an IRA. Savings in an IRA is typically invested in the following ways.

Stocks and Mutual Funds – By far the most popular choices, these are arguably the best way to increase your savings. Some people are adverse to risk and, therefore, afraid of this option, but stocks and mutual funds generally beat inflation and allow your money to compound via dividends and increases in share prices.
Bonds – Putting your money into bonds is a good choice for the more cautious of investors. You will still end up with more than with money markets and CDs. Dividends can be spent or reinvested..
CDs and Money Markets – These options are your safest option, but give the lowest amount of interest.

[Here are the current IRA contribution limits]

Roth Individual Retirement Account

A Roth IRA is another type of retirement plan where your earnings grow tax-free, similar to that of a self invested personal pension in the UK. The difference is, you have to pay taxes up front and, in order to let your money accrue tax-free, hold the account for a five year minimum. There are fewer investment restrictions and withdrawals are tax-free, though certain rules may apply.

Changes occurring within your Roth IRA (interest, dividends, capital gains) are not taxable. Contributions are not tax deductible, but once deposited into your account, your money will grow free of taxes.

403(b) Plan

This type of retirement plan is solely for the employees of certain public schools and other organizations that are tax-exempt. Some ministers fall into this category. You, the employee, can not set up a 403(b) account for yourself. Only your employer can set one up for you. Contributions are made by your employer through salary reduction agreements. Some plans allow you to make after-tax contributions.

These are funds put into your plan from some other source of income. No income tax is paid on these contributions until you start withdrawing from your plan, normally not until you are retired. (Contributions made to a Roth program are initially taxed but then remain tax-free until you start withdrawing and, if certain requirements are met, sometimes even then.)

If you are ready to start saving for retirement, take a minute to educate yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

photo by jscreationzs

Jeff Rose is an Illinois Certified Financial Planner. He blogs at Good Financial Cents and Soldier of Finance. He loves Crossfit workouts, writes about Roth IRA rules and craves In-N-Out burger. You can follow his updates on Twitter.

IRA Contribution Limits for Both Roth and Traditional

By Khaleef Crumbley

Below you will find the IRA Contribution Limits for 2017, 2016, and 2015. Unfortunately, there were no adjustments made to the 2016 contribution limits of IRAs – both Roth and Traditional. Therefore, Roth IRA contribution limits and Traditional IRA contribution limits will remain the same as this year.

Combined Traditional and Roth IRA Contribution Limits:

	2017	2016	2015
Traditional IRA Contribution Limit	$5,500	$5,500	$5,500
Roth IRA Contribution Limit	$5,500	$5,500	$5,500

IRA Catch-Up Contribution	$1,000	$1,000	$1,000

Total IRA Contribution Limit for Those Over 50	$6,500	$6,500	$6,500

For those of you who will be under 50 years of age at the end of the year, the total of your Roth IRA Contribution Limit and your Traditional IRA Contribution Limit is $5,500. However, if your total taxable compensation for the year is less than $5,500, then your IRA contribution limit is equal to the amount of your taxable compensation for 2017.

The maximum deductible contribution to a traditional IRA and the maximum contribution to a Roth IRA may be reduced depending on your modified adjusted gross income.

As with the 401k, if you are 50 years of age or older before the end of 2017, then you will be allowed to make a “catch-up” contribution in the amount of $1,000. This will bring your IRA contribution limit to the lesser of $6,500 or the total of your taxable compensation for 2017. This limit can be split between a Traditional IRA and a Roth IRA but the combined limit is $6,500.

For those of you who would rather contribute to an IRA over a 401k because of the added flexibility, please keep in mind that you should still contribute an amount to your 401k that will allow you to take advantage of the full 401k employer match. If not, then you are essentially throwing away free money!

Be sure to refer to these charts from the IRS (linked above) for those who are covered and those who are not covered by a retirement plan at work. Also, see how your Modified AGI affects the amount of Roth IRA Contributions that you can make for 2017.

photo by o5com