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Dear Dr. Don,
Where does one go to open a Roth account?
-- Helen Howe
 Dear
Helen,
You've asked a timely question as we close in on April 15.
First, you need to be sure that you qualify to contribute to a Roth IRA. There are modified adjusted gross
income limitations in answering that question. IRS Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements, has a section titled
"Can You Contribute to a Roth IRA?" that
will let you determine if you are eligible to contribute for the 2007 tax year.
Once over that hurdle, you're ready to think about where to hold the account. The big three choices are a
brokerage account, bank account or mutual fund. Decide among these account custodians based on how you want to invest the
money, and the applicable fees and expenses for the account. These accounts are very portable, so if you decide later that
you want to move the money to a different custodian, it's fairly easy to do.
The decision about how to invest this money depends on your attitude toward risk, where you are in your
career, how close you are to retirement and how the rest of your portfolio is invested. An earlier Dr. Don column,
"Getting an early start on retirement," may not fit where you are
in your career but has a good overview on choosing how to invest retirement money.
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