IRAs

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) continue to play a prominent role in the retirement saving and investment strategies of Americans. Traditional IRAs allow tax-deductible contributions and offer tax-deferred earnings and make available a broad range of investment vehicle choices.

For your consideration, we present you with some basic facts and specifics of IRAs:

• Contribution limits: In general, the most you can contribute to an IRA for 2019 is $6,000. However, if you are age 50 or older, you can make an additional "catch-up" contribution of $1,000, which brings the maximum annual contribution to $7,000.
• Eligibility: In general, tax rules require that you must have compensation to contribute to an IRA. Compensation includes income from wages and salaries and net self-employment income. If you are married and file a joint tax return, only one spouse needs to have the required compensation.
• Deductibility: Whether you can deduct your traditional IRA contribution depends on your income level, marital status, and coverage by an employer-sponsored retirement plan.
• Distributions: You may begin withdrawing money from a traditional IRA without penalty after age 59½. Generally, previously untaxed contributions and earnings are taxable at the then-current regular income tax rate. You must begin receiving minimum annual distributions from your traditional IRA no later than April 1 of the year following the year you reach age 70½ and then annually thereafter.

To discover if an IRA fits into your retirement strategy, we recommend you talk with John or Alan to find the best combination for you.