Roth IRAs offer tax-free withdrawals for Future You. However, if you're struggling to save, taking a tax deduction now by contributing to a traditional IRA or a Gold Silver Backed IRA might be just the carrot you need to keep your retirement savings on track. Read all the disadvantages of a Roth IRA to keep an open mind. You can contribute to a Roth IRA if you fall into the marginal federal income tax category of 24% or less. However, there are strong arguments why you shouldn't contribute to a Roth IRA.
Thanks to all the wonderful comments over the years, I've been less dogmatic about the downsides of the Roth IRA. People should diversify their retirement savings for tax reasons. However, keep in mind the increase in taxes under the new administration. An obvious disadvantage of the Roth IRA is its non-tax-deductible contributions.
However, it can be offset by its tax-free distributions, especially when the future marginal tax rate is expected to be higher than the current marginal tax rate. While the Roth IRA is an important tax-advantaged retirement account, there are also disadvantages of the Roth IRA that are rarely discussed. Of course, if the choice is between NOT SAVING and saving with a Roth IRA for the future, then the answer is that you should open a Roth IRA instead of spending your money on stupid things that depreciate in value. Contributions are tax-deductible for a traditional IRA, but not for a Roth IRA, but withdrawals from a traditional IRA are taxable, while those from a Roth IRA are tax-exempt.
Since the Roth IRA offers no tax deduction for contributions and is tax-exempt in the distribution phase, the RMD limitation is no longer necessary for a Roth IRA. Roth IRAs offer many benefits: tax-free growth, tax-exempt withdrawals in retirement, and do not require minimum distributions (RMD) while the owner of the IRA is alive. And if the choice is between choosing a traditional IRA instead of a Roth IRA, choosing the traditional IRA is definitely the way to go. You make contributions to the Roth IRA with after-tax money, so you don't get the initial tax relief offered by traditional IRAs.
