In general, if you think you'll be in a higher tax bracket when you retire, a Roth IRA may be the best option. Alternatively, you could consider an IRA backed by Gold, which offers the same tax benefits as a traditional IRA. The main difference between a Roth IRA and a traditional IRA is how and when you get a tax break. Contributions to traditional IRAs are tax-deductible, but retirement withdrawals are taxable. By comparison, contributions to Roth IRAs are not tax-deductible, but retirement withdrawals are tax-exempt.
There is another reason to protect yourself from a Roth, and it relates to access to income now and potential tax savings in the future. A Roth can take away more income in the short term because you are forced to contribute money after taxes. With a traditional IRA or 401 (k), on the other hand, the income required to contribute the same maximum amount to the account would be lower, since the account is based on pre-tax income. If you can't leave the earnings from your contributions in a Roth IRA for a sufficient period of time (five years), you will be fined for early withdrawal.
Therefore, making non-deductible contributions to a traditional IRA with the goal of later converting them to a Roth IRA probably works best if you have little or no existing deductible IRA balance, which muddies things up. While some workplaces offer a Roth 401 (k) option for employees, if yours doesn't, diverting part of those dollars from those retirement savings to a Roth IRA will give you more options for managing your tax burden during retirement. Because of those differences, you could end up paying more taxes in the long run than if you deposited the full amount you can afford to invest into a Roth account in the first place. In the family of financial planning products, the Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA) sometimes resembles the great younger sister of the traditional IRA.
The IRS considers all profits from traditional IRAs as one when it comes to distributions, including funds from Roth conversions. This means that if you don't qualify to contribute to a Roth IRA because your income is too high, you may be able to contribute to a Roth 401 (k). If you don't name a beneficiary, your spouse (if he is your primary beneficiary) can choose to inherit your Roth IRA or transfer it to a Roth IRA in your name. If you change jobs, you have the option of converting a traditional 401 (k) directly into a Roth IRA without having to convert it into a traditional IRA first.
If you think you'll be in a higher tax bracket when you retire, then a Roth IRA makes sense because today you pay taxes at a lower rate. You can avoid RMD by transferring a Roth 401 (k) balance to a Roth IRA after you retire but before you reach RMD age. While the best time to open a Roth IRA is when you're young and you have the magic of capitalization and interest on your side, it can also be a useful vehicle when you're older and want to deposit funds into an account that isn't subject to the minimum distribution rules required during the participant's lifetime. If you don't qualify for a Roth IRA due to income limits, some investors choose to make contributions to a traditional IRA and then convert them into a Roth IRA.
But eventually you'll have to face that tax burden when you retire, which means that unless you really need that initial tax break, it's hard to go wrong with a Roth IRA. When you take out money, you're only tax-free if you've been in your Roth IRA for five years and you're 59 and a half years old. If your income is relatively low, a traditional IRA or 401 (k) may allow you to receive more contributions to the plan as a tax credit for savers than you would save with a Roth. .
