Outside of a company-matched 401K, a Roth IRA is one of, if not your best investment tools for retirement.
But why is it such a no brainer?
As long as you follow the rules for contributing and maintaining a Roth IRA account, at no point will you ever have to pay taxes on the money in your account! That’s right, when you qualify to take funds from your account, what you see is what you get. No matter how big your gains are, or dividend payments over the years, you will never be taxed on them.
So why don’t more people have Roth IRAs? They simply feel overwhelmed by setting up and managing one or just aren’t aware they exist. But, we’re here to change that today! Below we’ll cover all the basics of Roth IRAs, the requirements, how to easily open one up, and how to select funds. You’ll be on your way to becoming an investing pro by the end of this!
What is a Roth IRA?
A Roth IRA is a tax-advantaged retirement savings account that you can fill with stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and ETFs and most importantly you pay no taxes when you withdraw money, achieve growth, or receive dividends.
First introduced in 1998, Roth IRAs were meant to give the average citizen an additional retirement tool outside of social security and/or company pensions so people become less reliant on these for income later in their life.
But, why was this account so important to create?
Without major changes, the Social Security Trust Fund that currently pays out to over 61 million Americans is set to run out of money in 2035.
