Decision Factors

Should you choose a Roth IRA for your annual savings? Should you roll your regular IRA to a Roth IRA? This part of our guide will help with these decisions. If you don't want to read all the gory details — or you just want a quick overview of this topic before plunging in — visit Roth IRA Rules of Thumb and then return here for more information.

Topic Summary

Tax Features of IRAs
This page explains the six major tax features that differentiate IRAs from other forms of investment — and differentiate one type of IRA from another.

The Roth IRA Is Bigger
This page expands on one of the most important features of the Roth IRA: it's effectively bigger than the regular IRA.

Roth IRA vs. Non-IRA Savings
Normally, if you have a choice between saving in a Roth IRA and keeping your money in a non-IRA account, the Roth IRA is better. But you might do better to choose the non-IRA account if you expect to take taxable distributions from your Roth IRA.

Roth IRA vs. Nondeductible IRA
A Roth IRA is almost always better than a nondeductible regular IRA. But you might consider the regular IRA for some or all of your contribution if you are in the phase-out range for Roth IRAs.

Roth IRA vs. Deductible IRA
This page walks you through the decision between Roth IRA and deductible IRA for your annual savings. The best choice depends mainly on your present and future tax brackets, but other factors may be important, too.

Roth IRA vs. Employer Plan
The possibility of getting matching contributions from your employer throws a different wrinkle into the question of where to contribute. And there are a few other things you should know about the differences between IRAs and employer plans.

Roth IRA and Tax on Social Security
Nontaxable Roth IRA distributions aren't like tax-exempt interest: they don't affect the amount of your social security benefit that's taxable.

Roth IRA Rollover Considerations
And finally, the most complicated decision: should you roll your regular IRA to a Roth IRA? Doing so can be a blunder — or the best financial move of your life.

Other Topics

Here are the other topics in our Guide to the Roth IRA:

• Roth IRA Essentials
• Regular Contributions
• Conversions and Rollovers
• Distributions from Roth IRAs
• Undoing Contributions and Conversions
• Investment Strategies