can i open a roth ira if i am not employed ?

Question

can i open a roth ira if i am not employed ? If not , what kind of retirement account can i open if im not employed ?

Answer 1

You can contribute to a Roth IRA only if you have earned income from a job, so it looks like you don't qualify. One exception would be if you have a spouse who still works. In that case, she can contribute to a spousal IRA on your behalf as long as she earns more than she contributes to accounts for each of you, and you file a joint return. The maximum contribution in 2007 is $4,000 per person ($5,000 if you're 50 or older).

401k plans are for employees set up by the company they are employed at....sorry this doesn't fit your situation.

Keogh is for self employed people. There are no options in your situation for a retirement account, but there's nothing stopping you from opening a taxable mutual fund, high interest savings account, or money market account. These choices would be better than nothing at all. Good luck.

Answer 2

You can only contribute to a IRA if you have earned income. Earned income is a job or self-employment.

If you have been unemployed all year, then no you can not contribute to any IRA. If you worked earlier this year you can contribute. For example, if you earned $3000 in January but have been unemployed since 2/1, you could contribute up to $3000 to an IRA.

I know of no retirement accounts that are fundable without working.

Answer 3

As long as you make less then 100k a year, then yes. If your unemployed your taking in much less then 100k a year(unless your receiving payments some how), so yes you can.