The Roth IRA is a good choice for most people. These articles explain why.

Should you choose a Roth IRA for your annual savings? Should you convert your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA? This part of our guide will help with these decisions. If you don't want to read all the gory details — or you just want a quick overview of this topic before plunging in — visit Roth IRA Rules of Thumb and then return here for more information.

Topic Summary

The Roth IRA Is Bigger
This article explains one of the most important features of the Roth IRA: it's effectively bigger than the traditional IRA.

Balancing the Benefits
Digging deeper, we see that "rate shifting" can make the traditional IRA come out ahead, but the Roth has advantages that can overcome that benefit of the traditional IRA.

Roth IRA and Tax on Social Security
Nontaxable Roth IRA distributions aren't like tax-exempt interest: they don't affect the amount of your social security benefit that's taxable.

Roth IRA vs. Nondeductible IRA
A Roth IRA is almost always better than a nondeductible traditional IRA. But you might consider the traditional IRA for some or all of your contribution if you are in the phase-out range for Roth IRAs.

Roth IRA vs. Employer Plan
The possibility of getting matching contributions from your employer throws a different wrinkle into the question of where to contribute. And there are a few other things you should know about the differences between IRAs and employer plans.

Roth IRA Conversion Considerations
And finally, the most complicated decision: should you convert your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA? Doing so can be a blunder — or the best financial move of your life.

Related

• Buy the book: Go Roth!
• Related IRS forms and publications: Your Work and Retirement
• Discussion forum: Retirement Savings and Benefits
• Related guide: Guide to the Roth 401k
• Up one level: Guide to the Roth IRA
• First article in this section: The Roth IRA Is Bigger