Iras

Today, more than ever individuals should be concerned about
their retirement savings, and if they will have enough to see
them through their golden years Currently, social security
benefits are all that many Americans have to see them through
their retirement, and with inflation, escalating medical
expense, and prescription drug costs, many senior citizens
simply cannot make ends meet on their fixed incomes In addition
to these concerns, many of our citizens known as the “baby
boomers” are reaching retirement age With more and more of our
population retiring, the need for adequate funding is an ever
increasing concern for all individuals
The Individual Retirement Account or IRA, is the original idea
conceived to help the individual that had no retirement plan
through work save for their retirement, tax free The
traditional IRA option allowed tax payers to invest in an IRA
and deduct it from their adjusted gross income at the end of the
year, thus saving them money on their tax liability In other
words, the savings was really a pre-tax deduction Today, there
are more versions available, and some have restrictions on the
tax deduction you’re allowed to take Nonetheless, the savings
benefit is still ever present
With all the fluctuation of the stock market, investments that
individuals had in the stock market, may or may not still
provide adequate funding for their retirement Many individuals
that had retired and placed their funds in stocks have now found
that they must return to work, even if only part-time, in order
to maintain their current standard of living That’s a place no
retired individual wants to be The IRA plans offer less of a
return, buy they’re also a much safer option
Contribution limits on IRAs have been increasing for the last
several years, and currently for 2005 are at $4500 for
non-working spouses, the same level applies So for a household
of taxpayer and non-working spouse, a combined contribution of
$9000 may be made this year In addition to the yearly
contribution, for all individuals over the age of 50, catch-up
contributions of $500 for each may be made That raises the
limit to $10,000 this year
The only other concern the individual contributor should have is
the tax deduction status of the contribution; depending upon
your filing status, income level, and availability of a 401(k)
plan at work, your deduction may or may not be limited The
masses will be able to take the contribution as at least a
partial deduction; for the few tax payers earning more than
$80,000 or $160,000 for spouses covered by an employee
retirement plan, there is no deduction However, for many of the
individuals who would fall into this category, there are usually
more options available than the simple IRA
The taxes on the investment growth, and any dividends
accumulated are deferred until the money is withdrawn, and it is
then taxed as additional ordinary income when received If for
some reason you should need to withdraw the money prior to
attainment of age 59½, you will be assessed a 10% penalty, with
few exceptions; there are however a few of those “exceptions”
that might apply to many individual tax payers Withdrawals for
the purchase of a first home, to pay for college expenses for
yourself, your spouse or your dependents, disability, or payment
of medical expenses that exceed more than 75% of your adjusted
gross income and for substantially equal payments based upon
your life expectancy are not assessed a 10% penalty These are
sometimes referred to as “hardship withdrawals”
As with any other type of investing, any individual that is
interested in investing in an IRA, MSA, 401(k), or any other
form of retirement planning, should seek the advice of a trained
professional

Tags | benefits, citizens, contribution, deduction, fluctuation, incomes, individual, ira, medical, result, traditional