Retirement

An Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) is a form of retirement plan that provides tax advantages for retirement savings in the United States. The term encompasses an individual retirement account – a trust or custodial account set up for the exclusive benefit of taxpayers or their beneficiaries – and an individual retirement annuity, by which the taxpayers purchase an annuity contract or an endowment contract from a life insurance company. 5000 per year unless you're over 50 then 6,000.

Roth IRA - contributions are made with after-tax assets, all transactions within the IRA have no tax impact, and withdrawals are usually tax-free. 

Traditional IRA - contributions are often tax-deductible (often simplified as "money is deposited before tax" or "contributions are made with pre-tax assets"), all transactions and earnings within the IRA have no tax impact, and withdrawals at retirement are taxed as income (except for those portions of the withdrawal corresponding to contributions that were not deducted). Depending upon the nature of the contribution, a traditional IRA may be referred to as a "deductible IRA" or a "non-deductible IRA." 

SEP IRA - a provision that allows an employer (typically a small business or self-employed individual) to make retirement plan contributions into a Traditional IRA established in the employee's name, instead of to a pension fund in the company's name. 

Simple IRA - a Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees that requires employer matching contributions to the plan whenever an employee makes a contribution. The plan is similar to a 401 K plan, but with lower contribution limits and simpler (and thus less costly) administration. Although it is termed an IRA, it is treated separately. 

Self-Directed IRA - a self-directed IRA that permits the account holder to make investments on behalf of the retirement plan.