{"id":14679,"date":"2025-05-06T21:38:22","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T21:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=14679"},"modified":"2025-05-06T21:38:22","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T21:38:22","slug":"what-are-the-rules-for-opening-an-ira","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=14679","title":{"rendered":"What Are the Rules for Opening an IRA?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload clicker_number\" style=\"position: absolute; height: 1px; width: 100%\" alt=\"ScoreCard Research\" data-count=\"85.208.98.194,85.208.98.194, 172.68.174.104\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\"><\/p>\n<div id=\"dear-SS Reader\"><span class=\"dear-SS Reader-dropcap \">Dear Penny,<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Is there an age limit for opening an IRA account? I am 70 years old. If there is no age limit, what are the rules? Thanks.<br \/>\u2014 Late Saver<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Dear Late,<\/p>\n<p>Since the passage of the SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act in 2019, there\u2019s no age limit for contributing to an IRA as long as you have earned income.<\/p>\n<p>If you have no earned income from wages, salary or self-employment, you can\u2019t contribute to an IRA. (Other income, like from Social Security benefits, another retirement account or spousal support, doesn\u2019t count.)<\/p>\n<p>Note that you\u2019ll have to start taking<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/retirement-plans\/retirement-plan-and-ira-required-minimum-distributions-faqs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> required minimum distributions<\/a> (RMDs) from a Traditional IRA when you turn 73 years old. RMDs, like the name suggests, are a minimum amount you have to withdraw from your IRA each year. The amount is calculated based on the balance of your account and your remaining life expectancy; you can figure it out using the IRS form 590-B (or work with a financial planner!).<\/p>\n<p>RMDs don\u2019t apply to a Roth IRA while you own it, but they come into play for anyone who inherits the account after you die.<\/p>\n<p>The IRA contribution limit as of 2024 was $7,000, plus $1,000 in \u201ccatch-up contributions\u201d if you\u2019re over age 50. How much you can claim as a tax deduction is restricted depending on your (and, if you\u2019re married, your spouse\u2019s) income. Those income limits can change each year, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/retirement-plans\/plan-participant-employee\/2024-ira-contribution-and-deduction-limits-effect-of-modified-agi-on-deductible-contributions-if-you-are-covered-by-a-retirement-plan-at-work\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here are the numbers for 2024<\/a> (the most recent limits the IRS lists):<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re unmarried and earn:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Up to $77,000, you can deduct the full amount.<\/li>\n<li>Up to $87,000, you get a partial deduction.<\/li>\n<li>More than $87,000, you get no deduction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you\u2019re married or widowed and earn:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Up to $123,000, you can deduct the full amount.<\/li>\n<li>Up to $143,000, you get a partial deduction.<\/li>\n<li>More than $143,000, you get no deduction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Dana Miranda is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance\u00ae and author of YOU DON\u2019T NEED A BUDGET. She writes <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthyrich.co\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Healthy Rich<\/em><\/a><em>, a newsletter about how capitalism impacts the ways we think, teach and talk about money.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>        <!-- ACF Financial Disclaimer --><\/p>\n<p>        <!-- End ACF Financial Disclaimer --><\/p>\n<p>        <!-- Newsletter Signup Form --><\/p>\n<div class=\"mobile-ad-units\">\n<div class=\"unit\">\n<p>                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"486\" height=\"437\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thepennyhoarder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/18125533\/cards-dark.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thepennyhoarder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/18125533\/cards-dark.jpg 486w, https:\/\/cdn.thepennyhoarder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/18125533\/cards-dark-360x324.jpg 360w, https:\/\/cdn.thepennyhoarder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/18125533\/cards-dark-300x270.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 486px) 100vw, 486px\">\n                                <\/div>\n<div class=\"unit\">\n                                    <a href=\"https:\/\/t.thepennyhoarder.com\/aff_c?offer_id=7631&amp;aff_id=408\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"sponsored noopener\" class=\"aff_id_override\"><br \/>\n                        <img width=\"486\" height=\"437\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.thepennyhoarder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/18125329\/auto-insurance-light.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.thepennyhoarder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/18125329\/auto-insurance-light.jpg 486w, https:\/\/cdn.thepennyhoarder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/18125329\/auto-insurance-light-360x324.jpg 360w, https:\/\/cdn.thepennyhoarder.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/18125329\/auto-insurance-light-300x270.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 486px) 100vw, 486px\">                    <\/a>\n                                <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"newsletter-signup-wrapper-for-digioh\">\n<div class=\"col-xs-12 newsletter-wrap flex-row\">\n<div class=\"container flex-container\">\n<div class=\"col-xs-12 new-newsletter-form\">\n<p class=\"text-subheading\">Ready to stop worrying about money?<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-get-daily\">Get the SS Daily<\/p>\n<p class=\"email-privacy-policy-blurb-white\">\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>        <!-- End Newsletter Signup Form --><\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepennyhoarder.com\/retirement\/rules-for-opening-an-ira\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Penny, Is there an age limit for opening an IRA account? I am 70 years old. If there is no age limit, what are the rules? Thanks.\u2014 Late Saver Dear Late, Since the passage of the SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act in 2019, there\u2019s no age limit for contributing to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[348],"tags":[1569,3813,548],"class_list":{"0":"post-14679","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-retirement","8":"tag-ira","9":"tag-opening","10":"tag-rules"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}