 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
IRAs and Retirement Plans
A more detailed explanation on IRAs and retirement plans can be found in the Retirement Planning section of our website. For the purposes of this section of the website, we want to help investors understand the difference between an IRA and an Investment.
Many investors will ask the question, "What kind of rates of return do you get on your ROTH IRAs?" This question would be better phrased by asking, "What rates of return are your investments projected to provide within a ROTH IRA?"
An IRA is NOT an investment. It is a vehicle by which an investor can place his or her investments inside of a qualified tax shelter. Many investors use mutual funds inside of their IRA accounts or retirement plans (401k, 403b, etc.). By placing their mutual funds inside of these various tax umbrellas, those mutual funds have some added tax benefit which can be beneficial to the investor. The rate of return will be based upon the mutual fund's performance. In addition, investors could use stocks, bonds, real estate, etc. as the investment vehicle inside of their retirement plans. They should understand that the investment returns will be based upon those various investments chosen and NOT based upon the IRA or other retirement plan.
Information on this page is not intended to provide tax advice. Holders of IRAs should seek advice from a qualified tax professional for more detail on the tax benefits and drawbacks of IRAs.
