Retirement Basics: Roth IRA
Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is a retirement account that has been named after Senator Roth, who played an instrumental role in bringing this retirement account into existence. The Roth IRA is the second most popular investment vehicle used in the United States of America, the first one being 401(k). The popularity of the Roth IRA account is because of the several features that this account provides. In this article, we will have a look at some of the important features of this account.
What is a Roth IRA Account?
A Roth IRA is a retirement account. This means that the money held in this account is usually held for long periods of time, i.e., till the retirement of the individual. Contributions to retirement accounts are generally tax-free all across the world. In the United States also, the contributions to retirement accounts such as 401(k) are tax-free. However, in the case of a Roth IRA, the account has to be funded with after tax dollars. This means that the amount invested in a Roth IRA cannot be used to generate a deduction on your income and thereby claim a tax refund.
However, that does not mean that investing in a Roth IRA does not generate any tax breaks. The tax breaks are not generated immediately. The input into the account is taxed. However, the output from the account is tax-free. It is assumed that the money is being withdrawn after the age of 59 years and 6 months. Any withdrawal prior to reaching that age will have to pay the penalty to the tune of 10%. This penalty can change from time to time.
This is in contrast with the 401(k), where the input is tax-free, and the output is taxed. However, this is also what makes the Roth IRA a very powerful tool, particularly if the money is invested for long periods of time. For instance, if you paid taxes on $100 that you put in today and this $100 then grows into $10000 over the course of 30 years, the entire $10000 is now tax-free! Many investors prefer to invest in this tool because it provides them a hedge against the possibly high rates of taxation that may prevail in the future.
Difference between a 401 (k) and Roth IRA?
There are certain differences between a 401(k) as well as a Roth IRA. Some of these differences have been explained below:
The bottom line is that the Roth IRA is a different product that has been created for meeting the investment needs of a different kind of investor. It has several advantages, and the ability to compound money in a tax-free manner is probably the biggest one.
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