individual retirement account

American  

noun

1. a savings plan that offers tax advantages to an individual depositor to set aside money for retirement. IRA

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Individual Retirement Account Cultural  

1. A retirement plan. The “traditional” IRA allows individuals to contribute pretax earnings up to a maximum yearly allowance and to defer income taxes until the money is withdrawn after retirement. The “Roth” IRA allows individuals to contribute aftertax earnings and pay no taxes on future withdrawals. In contrast to a 401(k) plan, an IRA is funded entirely by the individual tax payer.

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Example Sentences

I used Microsoft Copilot to create a spreadsheet to estimate the tax cost of making transfers out of my individual retirement account to my Roth IRA.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026

Vanguard researchers found that 6.7% of the firm’s individual retirement account holders age 73 and up had missed taking their RMDs in 2024.

From Barron's • Dec. 24, 2025

In the Fix My Portfolio column, Beth Pinsker incorporated the new tax rates into instructions on how to decide whether or not to move money from a traditional individual retirement account into a Roth IRA.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 10, 2025

Joseph Nye, an eminent professor emeritus at Harvard, told me that he had been thinking of donating part of his individual retirement account to Harvard when a friend suggested a community college instead.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 28, 2023

Teenagers with earned income can contribute to a special retirement account known as a Roth individual retirement account.

From New York Times • Jun. 2, 2023