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Contributions may be tax deductible for single tax filers earning less than $76,000 MAGI ($75,000 for 2020) and joint tax filers earning less than $125,000 MAGI ($124,000 for 2020).Footnote ² Earnings may be withdrawn without a 10% additional tax at or after age 59½. If you have taxable accounts to draw from in retirement, you can draw them down and allow your Traditional IRA assets to continue to potentially grow tax-deferred until age 72Footnote ³, after which time required minimum distributions must be taken.

Contributions are not tax deductible, but qualified withdrawals are federal, and often state, tax free after you reach age 59½ and the account has been open at least 5 years. Contributions—not earnings—can be withdrawn tax free at any time.

Multiple 401(k) and 403(b) retirement plans can be consolidated into a single easy-to-manage account, allowing your assets to maintain their tax-deferred status. A Merrill IRA provides access to a full range of investment choices. If you have taxable accounts to draw from in retirement, you can draw them down and allow your Traditional IRA assets to continue to potentially grow tax-deferred until age 72Footnote ³, after which time required minimum distributions must be taken.

Anyone who has earned income equal to or greater than their IRA contribution is eligible.Footnote ²

The eligibility limits are $140,000 MAGI or less for individuals ($139,000 for 2020) and $208,000 MAGI or less for joint filers ($206,000 for 2020).Footnote ²

Anyone who has earned income equal to or greater than their IRA contribution is eligible.Footnote ²

An Individual Retirement Account (IRA) provides a tax-deferred way for you to save for retirement. There are many different types of IRAs but Roth and Traditional IRAs are the most common.

IRAs rely on long-term, tax-deferred compounding to provide your retirement savings the opportunity to grow. When you earn interest, receive a dividend or sell an investment (such as a mutual fund) for a gain, you don't pay taxes that year on the earnings. Instead, all taxes are deferred until you withdraw those earnings in retirement.

In retirement you may need as much as 100% of your current after-tax income. This makes it important to start saving sooner rather than later, and an IRA can help get you started.

You can choose from a full-range of investment products, including mutual funds, stocks, bonds and ETFs, as well as bank products like CDs and money market savings.

You can make contributions to an IRA for a given tax year until that year's tax return filing deadline, usually April 15 of the following year. Be sure you understand the applicable contribution limits and what happens if you exceed those limits.

A Roth IRA conversion could help grow your retirement federal, and often state, income tax free. To help you convert to a Merrill Edge Roth IRA, call us 24/7 at 866.460.1282 for one-on-one assistance.

You have several choices when it comes to your old 401(k). Typically known as a rollover IRA, you can opt to transfer your money into an IRA. Another option is keeping the current 401(k) with your old employer or transfer it to a new employer plan.Footnote ¹

There's no limit to the number of individual retirement accounts (IRAs) you can own.