INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNT

INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNT, or IRA, was created in 1974 for those individuals not covered by company pensions. Initially individuals could make tax-deductible contributions of up to $1,500 per annum to an IRA account, but in 1981, a new tax law allowed individuals to make tax-deductible contributions up to $2,000 per annum; the sum was raised to $3,000 for tax year 2002. The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 gave employees already in corporate pension programs the ability to contribute monies to their own IRA accounts. IRA contributions can be placed in high-yield investments, with taxation deferred until the money is withdrawn. In most cases, IRA contributions cannot be withdrawn without penalty until after age fifty-nine and a half. Congress did make some exceptions to the rule, however, for qualified education expenses through the creation of an Education IRA and for first-time home purchases. The Taxpayer Relief Act also created the Roth IRA, in which the earnings are tax-free, but there are no tax-deduction benefits for the contributions made each year. Contributions to a Roth IRA are made with after-tax rather than pre-tax dollars, but earnings are tax-free. If certain conditions are met, the earnings are free of Internal Revenue Service penalties. Unlike a traditional IRA, Roth contributions are allowed beyond age seventy and a half.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bamford, Janet, et al. The Consumer Reports Money Book: How to Get It, Save It, and Spend It Wisely. Yonkers, N.Y.: Consumer Reports, 2000.

Downing, Neil. The New IRAs and How to Make Them Work for You. Chicago: Dearborn Trade, 2002.

Meg GreeneMalvasi

See alsoRetirement Plans .