When you think of retirement, you probably think of people
(maybe even yourself) who have worked long and hard and who are now ready to
start relaxing and enjoying life. The truth is, however, that absolutely
everyone enters into retirement age if they’re lucky, regardless of whether
they have been employed in their lifetimes or not.
The most commonly unemployed people are mothers, and
sometimes fathers, who have chosen to stay home and care for their children
instead of having careers. Many of these parents have worked in the past, but
regardless of that fact, they often have currently-neglected financial accounts
and no real retirement plans of their own, which can be dangerous with all of
life’s unexpected twists and turns. Fortunately, there is still a way for
married, unemployed individuals to plan for retirement.
Being married, you see, is a big plus- at least as far as
retirement planning is concerned. Married people are eligible to open Spousal Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Through this arrangement, the working
spouse can contribute to the non-working spouse’s retirement funds. This
account can be a traditional one or a Roth IRA. The only requirement is that
the married couple file a joint tax return and abide by federal contribution
limitations for each tax year.
While it is, as mentioned above, required that couples
opening these accounts file jointly, the actual account itself is held only in
the name of the non-working spouse. This fact offers a certain degree of
protection to the non-working spouse. The non-working spouse even has the power
to designate beneficiaries to the account who are not the working spouse.
Furthermore and even more importantly in this day and age, these assets can be
considered separate in the event of a divorce. While no one likes to think
about divorce, it’s important for the non-working spouse to protect himself or
herself, and, in any case, to have a retirement plan in place. These specialty
IRAs are the perfect way to do that and are definitely worth looking into for
married, non-working individuals.