IRA Choices - An Individual Retirement Account Is For Do-It-Yourself Retirement

Maybe you don't like what you see in the news about Social Security and its questionable future. Maybe you don't like being left out when everyone you know talks about their retirement portfolio is not producing the same numbers it did in the 1990s. Maybe you have a 401(k), but you don't think it will be enough. Maybe you just want to find out what the heck "IRA" stands for.

Individual Retirement Accounts were authorized by the federal government 20-some-odd years ago as an incentive for individuals to save for retirement. That's why they used "Individual" in the name. The IRA encourages regular, long-term savings, and it also offers income tax advantages as well. Because of the fairly low contribution limits, the IRA isn't designed to be the only route you take for retirement savings, but rather be combined with other retirement savings options.

IRAs have grown ever more popular the longer they exist, in part because the future of Social Security retirement benefits continually becomes more uncertain. Everyone has a theory about how long Social Security will continue to provide meaningful assistance to retirees. Many Americans don't believe it will be available when the bazillion Baby Boomers retire. And even those who have faith in Social Security may have some serious questions about it. One thing everyone agrees on is that Social Security will not be enough to fund your retirement. If you don't agree, we've got some Beanie Babies for you to invest in.