IRA
Individual retirement account: a tax-advantaged retirement account you open yourself at a bank or brokerage, separate from your job.
There are two main kinds, the traditional IRA and the Roth IRA. You can contribute if you have earned income, or if your spouse does and you file jointly.
For 2026, the limit is $7,500 across all your IRAs, plus $1,100 more at age 50 and over. You can contribute for a tax year until the tax filing deadline the next spring. An IRA is just the account, so you still choose investments inside it.