There can be confusion when it comes to the Roth name before retirement planning vehicles. This is an attempt to explain the difference between two very common retirement plans with Roth options – the Roth IRA and the Roth 401(k). Let’s start with the “Roth” part. Named after the senator that first introduced the legislation, having Roth in front of IRA or 401(k) means that contributions into the plan are made with after-tax dollars (money that’s already be subject to income taxation). When the account owner reaches a specific age (typically age 59.5) any distributions, including earnings (growth) are tax free. Roth IRAs allow annual contributions based on earned income (W2 or self-employed income) up to $6,000 or $7,000 annually (if over age 50). Roth IRAs also allow access to your contributions at any time without penalty, and do not have required minimum distributions at age 72. Finally, you can […]

Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
The latest in our Owner’s Manual series, A 401(k) Owner’s Manual, was published in January 2020 and is available on
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An IRA Owner’s Manual, 2nd Edition is available for purchase on Amazon. Click the link to choose the
Jim’s book – A Social Security Owner’s Manual, is now available on Amazon. Click this link for the
And if you’ve come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed “advisor’s advisor”.