The Best Investments for an IRA

An IRA is a fantastic way to build long-term wealth, but it can be tricky knowing which stocks or ETFs are best to own in one. There are thousands of publicly traded companies and ETFs to choose from, and they don’t all deserve a spot in your portfolio.

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Financial literacy and money management are important life skills. Unfortunately, most people never study this in school, leaving many young adults ill-prepared to deal with their finances as they enter the work world, often in their early twenties.

3 Tax Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make

With tax season rapidly approaching, many of us are starting to gather our paperwork and work on hammering out our returns. But in reality, tax planning is something you should focus on year-round, and not just during the first few months of the year.

10 Frequently Asked IRA Questions

Individual retirement arrangements, or IRAs, are actively used by only about one-fifth of Americans. While many people have valid reasons for not using an IRA, like having a 401 at work, one of the most common reasons given for not contributing to an IRA is a lack of knowledge about this type of account.

Buying an Annuity for Retirement Makes Sense — Sometimes

The use of annuities inside a qualified retirement plan or IRA has been a controversial practice among financial planners for the past few decades. But new innovations have been added to annuities in recent years, and this has changed the rules of the game in the minds of many planners who once saw annuities as unfit investments for their clients’ retirement assets.

The Top Stock You Should Consider for Your IRA

To be clear, there are dozens, if not hundreds of stocks that could make great IRA investments, depending on your risk tolerance and portfolio diversification. One stock in particular that I have my eye on for my own IRA right now is New York Community Bancorp — more specifically, I already own it but am considering adding to my position now that the stock has declined.

Required Minimum Distributions: Do I Have to Take My IRA Cash?

Tax-favored retirement accounts like IRAs and 401 s can save you thousands of dollars in taxes over the course of your career, because they offer tax deferral on the income and gains that your investments produce while they’re inside the account. However, the IRS doesn’t let you get away with tax-deferred growth forever.

Fidelity vs. TD Ameritrade: Best IRA Companies

Individual retirement accounts can be a great way to save for the future, offering tax efficiency and more choice than employer-sponsored retirement accounts. By opening a self-directed IRA , you’ll be able to choose from thousands of mutual funds, ETFs, stocks and other investments for your portfolio.

Brokers for IRAs: E*Trade vs. Vanguard

One is known as one of the first online brokers, and the other is famous for pioneering index funds, but they both help millions of people save for retirement with IRAs. In this article, we’ll compare E*Trade’s and Vanguard’s IRA accounts , based on factors like commissions, account fees, and investment selection.

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If you’re like most Americans, you’re going to rely on a mix of income sources in retirement, such as savings, pensions, work, and Social Security. In spite of this multi-income strategy, retirement costs, such as healthcare expenses, and inadequate savings, suggests there’s a real risk out living the money you set aside during your career.

IRS Form 1099-R: What Every Retirement Saver Should Know

Saving for retirement can take your entire career, but when it comes time to retire, you want to make sure your savings work as hard as they can for you. With tax-favored accounts like IRAs, 401 s, and other employer-sponsored retirement plans, the tax-deferred growth they offer can dramatically boost your savings.

Your 2017 Guide to Retirement Planning

Saving for retirement is a challenge many workers face, but without an amply funded nest egg, you risk running out of money as a senior. Let’s explore your options for saving for retirement so that you can get started as soon as possible.

Saving for College? Consider a Roth IRA

With college costs rising faster than inflation, more and more parents are actively saving to help cover those expenses. And while 529 plans have traditionally been promoted as the go-to college savings vehicle, there’s a lesser-known alternative it might pay to explore: the Roth IRA.

Pay Gap Closing but Women May Face Retirement Shortfall

Many Americans struggle to save for retirement, but the gender wage gap makes the prospects for women even more dire: The average woman must save $1.25 for every $1 a man invests to build an equivalent nest egg, a new study shows. For every $1 men earned in 2015, women, on average, made 80 cents, up from 77.5 cents in 2007, according to an analysis of the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Pay Gap Closing but Women May Face Retirement Shortfall

Many Americans struggle to save for retirement, but the gender wage gap makes the prospects for women even more dire: The average woman must save $1.25 for every $1 a man invests to build an equivalent nest egg, a new study shows. For every $1 men earned in 2015, women, on average, made 80 cents, up from 77.5 cents in 2007, according to an analysis of the latest data available from the U.S. Census Bureau.

How a Roth IRA Can Help You Make the Most of Social Security

If you’re earning income by working, and also collecting Social Security, you might be missing out on a valuable strategy that can increase the likelihood of maintaining financial security in retirement. Are you making the most of your Social Security income? If you’re not contributing to a Roth IRA, the answer may be no.