Investment Glossary
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) - IRA's allow you to make
contributions from your employment income into an investment account to save
money towards retirement. Typically employers will take these tax-deferred
deductions directly out of your pay, and may even match part of your
contribution.
IRA's are generally a very safe investment but can go down if the financial
market plummets (such as after the dotcom crash earlier this century). There
are also stiff penalties for early withdrawal, in addition to paying income
tax on any money taken out.
There are three types of IRA's: Roth IRA's, Simple IRA's, and Education
IRA's.
