Kev3399
New Member
Cash: $ 0.90
Posts: 4
Joined: 08 May 2007
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| Roth IRA Question |
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I currently contribute fully to a Roth IRA. I plan on retiring at age 50.(I know, ambitious....I am military and plan on doing the full 30 and not ever working again) I started early investing at age 19.(I am 26 now)
My question is, should I continue to fund a Roth IRA? To my understanding, I can't begin to use my Roth until I am 59 1/2 years old. Should I direct my money to other investments to meet my goal of retirement early?(ie, something I can convert over to produce monthly income or annuity) Or am I just way off in my thinking?
I've spent considerable time researching what I should be doing now, growth investing. Thats easy. But am I putting my money in the right spots to meet my goals?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
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Tue May 22, 2007 6:56 am |
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Kev3399
New Member
Cash: $ 0.90
Posts: 4
Joined: 08 May 2007
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Thanks for making my eyes bleed. Seriously.....I don't know what else to say about that.
My IRA is currently only about 23% of my portfolio. Yes, you can't live on an IRA alone in 30 years. Its just one facet of my portfolio that I am concerned about when compared to my goals. I should have been more specific about my scenario.
People work after they retire from the military for two reasons:
-They didn't save when they were young. (N/A for my scenario and goals)
-They work because they want something to do. (ie workaholics)
I plan on doing something when I retire, but it won't be for income. Volunteer work or coaching comes to mind.
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Tue May 22, 2007 4:50 pm |
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No-Brainer
Senior Member
Cash: $ 83.45
Posts: 986
Joined: 29 Dec 2005
Location: Oregon USA
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I can tell you from the viewpoint of someone who is already retired and doing well, I owned my own business so didn't have any 401K and my IRA tanked with the market a while back.
Fortunately I bought real estate to house my office and the proceeds from that plus the sale of the business itself adds enough to my Social Security to make ends meet. Then my wife still works part time as a sub for the school district (mostly because she enjoys it) and I spend time building an online income so my schedule is flexible enough to travel quite often.
We are bringing in about 6 grand a month until the notes on the property pay off, then I plan to sell my house to make it the rest of the way. Of course if my online income keeps growing, I may extend that.
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Wed May 23, 2007 3:14 pm |
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efflandt
Senior Member
Cash: $ 80.45
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Joined: 25 Apr 2005
Location: Elgin, IL USA
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Something to note about a Roth IRA is that you can withdraw your "contributions" (which have already been taxed) at any time. Just the gains have to meet "qualified" requirements before you can withdraw them tax/penalty free. So you could continue to pack max contributions into the Roth, and just draw back your contributions before age 59.5, letting your gains grow until at least then.
Certain other tax-deferred accounts can be drawn from at age 55 if you are retired and make proper periodic withdrawls for at least 5 years. But I am not sure if that is just employer sponsored plans [like 401(k), etc.] or if that would apply to traditional IRA's. http://www.irs.gov/ would have more specifics.
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Wed May 23, 2007 11:04 pm |
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oldguy
Senior Member
Cash: $ 751.85
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Joined: 21 May 2006
Location: arizona
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quote:
?(ie, something I can convert over to produce monthly income or annuity) Or am I just way off in my thinking?
I'm retired, when I want money I sell some index funds, usually about every 6 months. I think retired people make a mistake by cashing in their stocks and buying income products just to get a monthly paycheck. I like to keep over 50% in equities, old people like 12% returns too.  And a twice-a-year paycheck works fine.
Whatever you decide, avoid annuities - high cost, high fee, low returns, you pay full income tax, and you have to pay for a bunch of estra life insurance.
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Fri May 25, 2007 3:16 am |
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