Private retirement plan

[Letspaintcookies 2,310]

I'm working part time and don't get any benefits which is kinda ok since I'm covered under my husband's healthcare. He's military, we still have a couple years to go and that means quite some moving around and changing jobs so who knows if I'll ever get offered a 401k and if, it probably wouldn't even make sense to contribute to it in the long run.

That's why I'm thinking about starting a private plan but after reading up on it I'm kinda lost. The regulations are just weird and I would need something that I'm allowed to contribute when I work and also during times when I'm not ( IRA and Roth only allow to contribute when I earn money while a spousal IRA would only allow contributions from my employed husband FOR me and I have to be unemployed ( at least that's my understanding. ))

Does anybody have tips and/ or experience with private plans?

[juancarlos 126]

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[Lil bear 4,263]

17 minutes ago, Letspaintcookies said:

I'm working part time and don't get any benefits which is kinda ok since I'm covered under my husband's healthcare. He's military, we still have a couple years to go and that means quite some moving around and changing jobs so who knows if I'll ever get offered a 401k and if, it probably wouldn't even make sense to contribute to it in the long run.

That's why I'm thinking about starting a private plan but after reading up on it I'm kinda lost. The regulations are just weird and I would need something that I'm allowed to contribute when I work and also during times when I'm not ( IRA and Roth only allow to contribute when I earn money while a spousal IRA would only allow contributions from my employed husband FOR me and I have to be unemployed ( at least that's my understanding. ))

Does anybody have tips and/ or experience with private plans?

Others will have far more expertise than I do .. but i know we can contribute up to $7000 each annually to our individual retirement plan as long as our annual earnings are over $7000.

[Letspaintcookies 2,310]

4 minutes ago, Lil bear said:

Others will have far more expertise than I do .. but i know we can contribute up to $7000 each annually to our individual retirement plan as long as our annual earnings are over $7000.

And that's my problem. There will be times when I'm unemployed but still want to pay in during this times and that's for whatever reasons not allowed 🤷‍♀️

[Lil bear 4,263]

1 minute ago, Letspaintcookies said:

And that's my problem. There will be times when I'm unemployed but still want to pay in during this times and that's for whatever reasons not allowed 🤷‍♀️

You can pay in a lump sum anytime before April the year after ( eg April 2021 for the tax year 2020) once you know how much you earned for the tax year. So maybe put it into a savings account to accumulate over the year and then deposit  as much as you are allowed even you know what that amount is. 

[TBoneTX 45,704]

Thread is moved from the "Moving to the US" forum to the Tax & Finances forum.

[xyz12345 260]

6 hours ago, Lil bear said:

Others will have far more expertise than I do .. but i know we can contribute up to $7000 each annually to our individual retirement plan as long as our annual earnings are over $7000.

To add, there's a maximum earned income limit to qualify for roth ira contribution depending on filing status.

 

To clarify,

https://www.investopedia.com/retirement/ira-contribution-limits/

 

Quote

For 2020, you can contribute as much as $6,000 to an IRA, or $7,000 if you're aged 50 and older.1 But you must have enough earned income to cover the contribution.

If your earned income for the year is less than the contribution limit, you can only contribute up to your earned income.4 For example, if you earned $3,000, you can contribute a maximum of $3,000.

 

 

From below, I don't think it you'll have a problem with spousal roth ira as long as you file 'married filing jointly.'

 

https://www.investopedia.com/roth-ira-contributions-with-no-job-4770755

Quote

If Your Spouse Has Earned Income

If your spouse earns income but you don’t, the IRS allows you to have an IRA of your own and use family funds to make your annual contributions. Often called a spousal IRA, these accounts act just like a normal Roth IRA. The only difference is that your spouse’s income, rather than your own, is used to determine whether you qualify for a Roth IRA based on the maximum income limits.1

If you're eligible for a spousal IRA, you can double your family's annual Roth IRA contributions.

Families often use the spousal IRA to double the amount they can contribute to IRAs each year. For tax years 2019 and 2020, you can contribute up to $6,000 per person. If you’re aged 50 or older, the limit is $7,000.3 That means couples can collectively contribute $12,000 to $14,000, depending on whether either or both are eligible for the catch-up contributions.

 

Also, you must file your taxes as “married filing jointly.” If the no-income spouse
later goes back to work, they can still contribute to their existing spousal
IRA. Once the account is set up, it’s an IRA just like any other