What Types of Retirement Accounts Exist & How Do You Know Which One is Right for You?

Jenny Taylor • November 15, 2022

With so many different types of retirement accounts, how do you know which one is right for you? It may be easier than you think to decide what the best option is.


Employee Sponsored Retirement Accounts


First of all, if you work for an employer that provides retirement benefits in an employee sponsored retirement account, then the decision has already been made for you.


Depending on where you work, such as a for-profit company, a non-profit company, or the government, you may have a 401K, 403B or Thrift Savings Plan (TSP).


Often these employers will match your contributions up to a certain percentage, say 3-5%.


But what about those that are either self-employed or work for a company that doesn’t have

retirement benefits?


Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs


The two main types of self-directed retirement accounts are the Traditional Individual Retirement Account (Trad IRA) and the Roth Individual Retirement Account (Roth IRA).


The main difference between these two is WHEN you pay taxes on the money contributed and distributed/withdrawn. Money contributed to a Traditional IRA is considered pre-tax and would count as a deduction on your earned income for that tax year. This means that when you take distributions (remove the money), you will pay taxes upon distribution. In other words, the money invested is tax deferred until you take distributions.


The Roth IRA is different because you pay taxes on the income that is contributed to the account. The money contributed and any gains are tax-free in retirement. For a great comparison chart see
this article at Investopedia. There are income limits with the Roth IRA, which adjusts most years, you can review that in the article listed as well.


Generally speaking, both types of retirement accounts have maximum contribution limits for 2022 of $6,000; or $7,000, if age 50 or older. For 2023 these limits are increasing to $6,500; or $7,500, if age 50 or older.


If you have both types of accounts the combined total contributed between the two must not exceed the overall IRA contribution limit for that tax year. An example of this would be that someone under 50 could contribute $3,000 to a Trad IRA and another $3,000 to a Roth for the tax year 2022 for a total of $6,000 max between the two types of accounts.


How Would You Decide Between a Traditional IRA and a Roth IRA?


You should consider asking yourself this important question: Will I pay more in my taxes on my earnings now than when I retire?


You may have more tax credits or deductions now compared to when you are retired and taking distributions from your Trad IRA, so you may end up paying more in taxes once retired, especially if you are still working and also have to start taking distributions.


Whereas, if you contribute to a Roth IRA now, you will pay taxes on those earnings now and be able to withdraw them tax free upon retirement.


We recommend speaking with a Tax Attorney or CPA to discuss eligibility for retirement

accounts because if you also work for an employer that provides retirement benefits, there are limits on how much you can contribute to self-directed IRAs. They could also possibly discuss what your tax situation would look like upon retirement to help you decide which type of self-directed account best suits your personal financial needs.


Either way you go though, saving for retirement is important, so start saving as early in your life as you can and if you haven’t started yet, there is no time like the present! Get an IRA account opened and start contributing, even just $50 a month if you can!  Be consistent! 


At TRADEway, we’re here to help with your short-term trading or long-term investment needs–we have programs available which can educate and support you through whatever path you decide to take.  Want to be more active in your investments?  Want to take a more passive approach?  Either way, we have something that could help your family.  Reach out TODAY! 


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By David Mitchell November 24, 2025
The long-term investing industry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years as far as their message goes: ”Don’t worry about bear market crashes, just stay the course…” Many people argue that the average person on the street would be way better off if they just bought the S&P 500 and held it rather than trying to buy and sell individual stocks themselves. Well, that may be absolutely true if you have zero trading skillsets. But if you do have the kind of trading skillsets that TRADEway teaches, then the old line philosophy of buy and hold isn’t the best strategy for you. In today’s episode we’re talking about some common myths that buy-and-hold-ers propagate. Let’s get into this important discussion… 
By David Mitchell November 24, 2025
The long-term investing industry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years as far as their message goes: ”Don’t worry about bear market crashes, just stay the course…” Many people argue that the average person on the street would be way better off if they just bought the S&P 500 and held it rather than trying to buy and sell individual stocks themselves. Well, that may be absolutely true if you have zero trading skillsets. But if you do have the kind of trading skillsets that TRADEway teaches, then the old line philosophy of buy and hold isn’t the best strategy for you. In today’s episode we’re talking about some common myths that buy-and-hold-ers propagate. Let’s get into this important discussion…
By Dave Huber November 10, 2025
We all know that feeling… A trade is going well and you’re feeling elated anticipating taking profits. And then out of seemingly nowhere, it tanks. Man, it’s frustrating! And if this has happened to you–maybe once, maybe many times–just know, you’re not alone. You might be wondering, why did this happen? It turns out there are three common reasons why trades stop working. Once you learn these three reasons it will be easier for you to analyze your past trades and figure out what went wrong. But more importantly, once you learn these three reasons why trades stop working, you’ll be better able to prevent a trade from going south in the first place, because you’ll start to recognize the warning signs. So let’s dive in. Here are three most common reasons why people’s trades stop working.
By Dave Huber November 10, 2025
We all know that feeling… A trade is going well and you’re feeling elated anticipating taking profits. And then out of seemingly nowhere, it tanks. Man, it’s frustrating! And if this has happened to you–maybe once, maybe many times–just know, you’re not alone. You might be wondering, why did this happen? It turns out there are three common reasons why trades stop working. Once you learn these three reasons it will be easier for you to analyze your past trades and figure out what went wrong. But more importantly, once you learn these three reasons why trades stop working, you’ll be better able to prevent a trade from going south in the first place, because you’ll start to recognize the warning signs. So let’s dive in. Here are three most common reasons why people’s trades stop working.
By Dave Huber October 27, 2025
Can you imagine what it would feel like to be steadily improving your trading week after week, month after month? Consistently improving your trading over time isn’t rocket science, but it sure can feel that way–especially if your profits have been inconsistent so far. Today, I’m sharing three simple ideas you can use to improve your trading. If getting to a place where you’re seeing consistent profits is something that’s been on your mind for a while, then be sure to listen to today’s episode all the way through because I think you’ll be surprised at just how simple improving your trading can really be.
By Dave Huber October 27, 2025
Can you imagine what it would feel like to be steadily improving your trading week after week, month after month? Consistently improving your trading over time isn’t rocket science, but it sure can feel that way–especially if your profits have been inconsistent so far. Today, I’m sharing three simple ideas you can use to improve your trading. If getting to a place where you’re seeing consistent profits is something that’s been on your mind for a while, then be sure to listen to today’s episode all the way through because I think you’ll be surprised at just how simple improving your trading can really be.
By Ben Mitchell October 13, 2025
What do you do if you’re excited about learning how to trade in the stock market but your spouse has reservations? Today we’re going to be talking about how to integrate the skill set of trading into the family, and providing some suggestions about how to share your excitement for trading with your spouse. Here at TRADEway we teach families how to take advantage of one of the most dynamic markets in history, the US stock market. But you can’t incorporate something like stock trading into your household unless there is a shared mission between husband and wife. So what do you do if you want to give stock trading a try, but you’re not sure if your spouse is “all in” on it? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
By Ben Mitchell October 13, 2025
What do you do if you’re excited about learning how to trade in the stock market but your spouse has reservations? Today we’re going to be talking about how to integrate the skill set of trading into the family, and providing some suggestions about how to share your excitement for trading with your spouse. Here at TRADEway we teach families how to take advantage of one of the most dynamic markets in history, the US stock market. But you can’t incorporate something like stock trading into your household unless there is a shared mission between husband and wife. So what do you do if you want to give stock trading a try, but you’re not sure if your spouse is “all in” on it? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
By Ben Mitchell September 29, 2025
Today we’re going to be talking about three types of traders. Over the past 15+ years we’ve trained a lot of traders through our courses, and more recently our memberships and mentorship programs. And throughout that process we’ve noticed that at the end of the day you can reduce all the various trading styles and personalities into three main groups or types of traders. My hope is by sharing these with you, it will help you identify which group you’re in, and how to advance forward in light of that.
By Ben Mitchell September 29, 2025
Today we’re going to be talking about three types of traders. Over the past 15+ years we’ve trained a lot of traders through our courses, and more recently our memberships and mentorship programs. And throughout that process we’ve noticed that at the end of the day you can reduce all the various trading styles and personalities into three main groups or types of traders. My hope is by sharing these with you, it will help you identify which group you’re in, and how to advance forward in light of that.
Show More
By David Mitchell November 24, 2025
The long-term investing industry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years as far as their message goes: ”Don’t worry about bear market crashes, just stay the course…” Many people argue that the average person on the street would be way better off if they just bought the S&P 500 and held it rather than trying to buy and sell individual stocks themselves. Well, that may be absolutely true if you have zero trading skillsets. But if you do have the kind of trading skillsets that TRADEway teaches, then the old line philosophy of buy and hold isn’t the best strategy for you. In today’s episode we’re talking about some common myths that buy-and-hold-ers propagate. Let’s get into this important discussion… 
By David Mitchell November 24, 2025
The long-term investing industry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years as far as their message goes: ”Don’t worry about bear market crashes, just stay the course…” Many people argue that the average person on the street would be way better off if they just bought the S&P 500 and held it rather than trying to buy and sell individual stocks themselves. Well, that may be absolutely true if you have zero trading skillsets. But if you do have the kind of trading skillsets that TRADEway teaches, then the old line philosophy of buy and hold isn’t the best strategy for you. In today’s episode we’re talking about some common myths that buy-and-hold-ers propagate. Let’s get into this important discussion…
By Dave Huber November 10, 2025
We all know that feeling… A trade is going well and you’re feeling elated anticipating taking profits. And then out of seemingly nowhere, it tanks. Man, it’s frustrating! And if this has happened to you–maybe once, maybe many times–just know, you’re not alone. You might be wondering, why did this happen? It turns out there are three common reasons why trades stop working. Once you learn these three reasons it will be easier for you to analyze your past trades and figure out what went wrong. But more importantly, once you learn these three reasons why trades stop working, you’ll be better able to prevent a trade from going south in the first place, because you’ll start to recognize the warning signs. So let’s dive in. Here are three most common reasons why people’s trades stop working.
By Dave Huber November 10, 2025
We all know that feeling… A trade is going well and you’re feeling elated anticipating taking profits. And then out of seemingly nowhere, it tanks. Man, it’s frustrating! And if this has happened to you–maybe once, maybe many times–just know, you’re not alone. You might be wondering, why did this happen? It turns out there are three common reasons why trades stop working. Once you learn these three reasons it will be easier for you to analyze your past trades and figure out what went wrong. But more importantly, once you learn these three reasons why trades stop working, you’ll be better able to prevent a trade from going south in the first place, because you’ll start to recognize the warning signs. So let’s dive in. Here are three most common reasons why people’s trades stop working.
By Dave Huber October 27, 2025
Can you imagine what it would feel like to be steadily improving your trading week after week, month after month? Consistently improving your trading over time isn’t rocket science, but it sure can feel that way–especially if your profits have been inconsistent so far. Today, I’m sharing three simple ideas you can use to improve your trading. If getting to a place where you’re seeing consistent profits is something that’s been on your mind for a while, then be sure to listen to today’s episode all the way through because I think you’ll be surprised at just how simple improving your trading can really be.
By Dave Huber October 27, 2025
Can you imagine what it would feel like to be steadily improving your trading week after week, month after month? Consistently improving your trading over time isn’t rocket science, but it sure can feel that way–especially if your profits have been inconsistent so far. Today, I’m sharing three simple ideas you can use to improve your trading. If getting to a place where you’re seeing consistent profits is something that’s been on your mind for a while, then be sure to listen to today’s episode all the way through because I think you’ll be surprised at just how simple improving your trading can really be.
By Ben Mitchell October 13, 2025
What do you do if you’re excited about learning how to trade in the stock market but your spouse has reservations? Today we’re going to be talking about how to integrate the skill set of trading into the family, and providing some suggestions about how to share your excitement for trading with your spouse. Here at TRADEway we teach families how to take advantage of one of the most dynamic markets in history, the US stock market. But you can’t incorporate something like stock trading into your household unless there is a shared mission between husband and wife. So what do you do if you want to give stock trading a try, but you’re not sure if your spouse is “all in” on it? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
By Ben Mitchell October 13, 2025
What do you do if you’re excited about learning how to trade in the stock market but your spouse has reservations? Today we’re going to be talking about how to integrate the skill set of trading into the family, and providing some suggestions about how to share your excitement for trading with your spouse. Here at TRADEway we teach families how to take advantage of one of the most dynamic markets in history, the US stock market. But you can’t incorporate something like stock trading into your household unless there is a shared mission between husband and wife. So what do you do if you want to give stock trading a try, but you’re not sure if your spouse is “all in” on it? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
By Ben Mitchell September 29, 2025
Today we’re going to be talking about three types of traders. Over the past 15+ years we’ve trained a lot of traders through our courses, and more recently our memberships and mentorship programs. And throughout that process we’ve noticed that at the end of the day you can reduce all the various trading styles and personalities into three main groups or types of traders. My hope is by sharing these with you, it will help you identify which group you’re in, and how to advance forward in light of that.
By Ben Mitchell September 29, 2025
Today we’re going to be talking about three types of traders. Over the past 15+ years we’ve trained a lot of traders through our courses, and more recently our memberships and mentorship programs. And throughout that process we’ve noticed that at the end of the day you can reduce all the various trading styles and personalities into three main groups or types of traders. My hope is by sharing these with you, it will help you identify which group you’re in, and how to advance forward in light of that.
Show More
By David Mitchell November 24, 2025
The long-term investing industry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years as far as their message goes: ”Don’t worry about bear market crashes, just stay the course…” Many people argue that the average person on the street would be way better off if they just bought the S&P 500 and held it rather than trying to buy and sell individual stocks themselves. Well, that may be absolutely true if you have zero trading skillsets. But if you do have the kind of trading skillsets that TRADEway teaches, then the old line philosophy of buy and hold isn’t the best strategy for you. In today’s episode we’re talking about some common myths that buy-and-hold-ers propagate. Let’s get into this important discussion… 
By David Mitchell November 24, 2025
The long-term investing industry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years as far as their message goes: ”Don’t worry about bear market crashes, just stay the course…” Many people argue that the average person on the street would be way better off if they just bought the S&P 500 and held it rather than trying to buy and sell individual stocks themselves. Well, that may be absolutely true if you have zero trading skillsets. But if you do have the kind of trading skillsets that TRADEway teaches, then the old line philosophy of buy and hold isn’t the best strategy for you. In today’s episode we’re talking about some common myths that buy-and-hold-ers propagate. Let’s get into this important discussion…
By Dave Huber November 10, 2025
We all know that feeling… A trade is going well and you’re feeling elated anticipating taking profits. And then out of seemingly nowhere, it tanks. Man, it’s frustrating! And if this has happened to you–maybe once, maybe many times–just know, you’re not alone. You might be wondering, why did this happen? It turns out there are three common reasons why trades stop working. Once you learn these three reasons it will be easier for you to analyze your past trades and figure out what went wrong. But more importantly, once you learn these three reasons why trades stop working, you’ll be better able to prevent a trade from going south in the first place, because you’ll start to recognize the warning signs. So let’s dive in. Here are three most common reasons why people’s trades stop working.
By Dave Huber November 10, 2025
We all know that feeling… A trade is going well and you’re feeling elated anticipating taking profits. And then out of seemingly nowhere, it tanks. Man, it’s frustrating! And if this has happened to you–maybe once, maybe many times–just know, you’re not alone. You might be wondering, why did this happen? It turns out there are three common reasons why trades stop working. Once you learn these three reasons it will be easier for you to analyze your past trades and figure out what went wrong. But more importantly, once you learn these three reasons why trades stop working, you’ll be better able to prevent a trade from going south in the first place, because you’ll start to recognize the warning signs. So let’s dive in. Here are three most common reasons why people’s trades stop working.
By Dave Huber October 27, 2025
Can you imagine what it would feel like to be steadily improving your trading week after week, month after month? Consistently improving your trading over time isn’t rocket science, but it sure can feel that way–especially if your profits have been inconsistent so far. Today, I’m sharing three simple ideas you can use to improve your trading. If getting to a place where you’re seeing consistent profits is something that’s been on your mind for a while, then be sure to listen to today’s episode all the way through because I think you’ll be surprised at just how simple improving your trading can really be.
By Dave Huber October 27, 2025
Can you imagine what it would feel like to be steadily improving your trading week after week, month after month? Consistently improving your trading over time isn’t rocket science, but it sure can feel that way–especially if your profits have been inconsistent so far. Today, I’m sharing three simple ideas you can use to improve your trading. If getting to a place where you’re seeing consistent profits is something that’s been on your mind for a while, then be sure to listen to today’s episode all the way through because I think you’ll be surprised at just how simple improving your trading can really be.
By Ben Mitchell October 13, 2025
What do you do if you’re excited about learning how to trade in the stock market but your spouse has reservations? Today we’re going to be talking about how to integrate the skill set of trading into the family, and providing some suggestions about how to share your excitement for trading with your spouse. Here at TRADEway we teach families how to take advantage of one of the most dynamic markets in history, the US stock market. But you can’t incorporate something like stock trading into your household unless there is a shared mission between husband and wife. So what do you do if you want to give stock trading a try, but you’re not sure if your spouse is “all in” on it? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
By Ben Mitchell October 13, 2025
What do you do if you’re excited about learning how to trade in the stock market but your spouse has reservations? Today we’re going to be talking about how to integrate the skill set of trading into the family, and providing some suggestions about how to share your excitement for trading with your spouse. Here at TRADEway we teach families how to take advantage of one of the most dynamic markets in history, the US stock market. But you can’t incorporate something like stock trading into your household unless there is a shared mission between husband and wife. So what do you do if you want to give stock trading a try, but you’re not sure if your spouse is “all in” on it? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
By Ben Mitchell September 29, 2025
Today we’re going to be talking about three types of traders. Over the past 15+ years we’ve trained a lot of traders through our courses, and more recently our memberships and mentorship programs. And throughout that process we’ve noticed that at the end of the day you can reduce all the various trading styles and personalities into three main groups or types of traders. My hope is by sharing these with you, it will help you identify which group you’re in, and how to advance forward in light of that.
By Ben Mitchell September 29, 2025
Today we’re going to be talking about three types of traders. Over the past 15+ years we’ve trained a lot of traders through our courses, and more recently our memberships and mentorship programs. And throughout that process we’ve noticed that at the end of the day you can reduce all the various trading styles and personalities into three main groups or types of traders. My hope is by sharing these with you, it will help you identify which group you’re in, and how to advance forward in light of that.
Show More
By David Mitchell November 24, 2025
The long-term investing industry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years as far as their message goes: ”Don’t worry about bear market crashes, just stay the course…” Many people argue that the average person on the street would be way better off if they just bought the S&P 500 and held it rather than trying to buy and sell individual stocks themselves. Well, that may be absolutely true if you have zero trading skillsets. But if you do have the kind of trading skillsets that TRADEway teaches, then the old line philosophy of buy and hold isn’t the best strategy for you. In today’s episode we’re talking about some common myths that buy-and-hold-ers propagate. Let’s get into this important discussion… 
By David Mitchell November 24, 2025
The long-term investing industry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years as far as their message goes: ”Don’t worry about bear market crashes, just stay the course…” Many people argue that the average person on the street would be way better off if they just bought the S&P 500 and held it rather than trying to buy and sell individual stocks themselves. Well, that may be absolutely true if you have zero trading skillsets. But if you do have the kind of trading skillsets that TRADEway teaches, then the old line philosophy of buy and hold isn’t the best strategy for you. In today’s episode we’re talking about some common myths that buy-and-hold-ers propagate. Let’s get into this important discussion…
By Dave Huber November 10, 2025
We all know that feeling… A trade is going well and you’re feeling elated anticipating taking profits. And then out of seemingly nowhere, it tanks. Man, it’s frustrating! And if this has happened to you–maybe once, maybe many times–just know, you’re not alone. You might be wondering, why did this happen? It turns out there are three common reasons why trades stop working. Once you learn these three reasons it will be easier for you to analyze your past trades and figure out what went wrong. But more importantly, once you learn these three reasons why trades stop working, you’ll be better able to prevent a trade from going south in the first place, because you’ll start to recognize the warning signs. So let’s dive in. Here are three most common reasons why people’s trades stop working.
By Dave Huber November 10, 2025
We all know that feeling… A trade is going well and you’re feeling elated anticipating taking profits. And then out of seemingly nowhere, it tanks. Man, it’s frustrating! And if this has happened to you–maybe once, maybe many times–just know, you’re not alone. You might be wondering, why did this happen? It turns out there are three common reasons why trades stop working. Once you learn these three reasons it will be easier for you to analyze your past trades and figure out what went wrong. But more importantly, once you learn these three reasons why trades stop working, you’ll be better able to prevent a trade from going south in the first place, because you’ll start to recognize the warning signs. So let’s dive in. Here are three most common reasons why people’s trades stop working.
By Dave Huber October 27, 2025
Can you imagine what it would feel like to be steadily improving your trading week after week, month after month? Consistently improving your trading over time isn’t rocket science, but it sure can feel that way–especially if your profits have been inconsistent so far. Today, I’m sharing three simple ideas you can use to improve your trading. If getting to a place where you’re seeing consistent profits is something that’s been on your mind for a while, then be sure to listen to today’s episode all the way through because I think you’ll be surprised at just how simple improving your trading can really be.
By Dave Huber October 27, 2025
Can you imagine what it would feel like to be steadily improving your trading week after week, month after month? Consistently improving your trading over time isn’t rocket science, but it sure can feel that way–especially if your profits have been inconsistent so far. Today, I’m sharing three simple ideas you can use to improve your trading. If getting to a place where you’re seeing consistent profits is something that’s been on your mind for a while, then be sure to listen to today’s episode all the way through because I think you’ll be surprised at just how simple improving your trading can really be.
By Ben Mitchell October 13, 2025
What do you do if you’re excited about learning how to trade in the stock market but your spouse has reservations? Today we’re going to be talking about how to integrate the skill set of trading into the family, and providing some suggestions about how to share your excitement for trading with your spouse. Here at TRADEway we teach families how to take advantage of one of the most dynamic markets in history, the US stock market. But you can’t incorporate something like stock trading into your household unless there is a shared mission between husband and wife. So what do you do if you want to give stock trading a try, but you’re not sure if your spouse is “all in” on it? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
By Ben Mitchell October 13, 2025
What do you do if you’re excited about learning how to trade in the stock market but your spouse has reservations? Today we’re going to be talking about how to integrate the skill set of trading into the family, and providing some suggestions about how to share your excitement for trading with your spouse. Here at TRADEway we teach families how to take advantage of one of the most dynamic markets in history, the US stock market. But you can’t incorporate something like stock trading into your household unless there is a shared mission between husband and wife. So what do you do if you want to give stock trading a try, but you’re not sure if your spouse is “all in” on it? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
By Ben Mitchell September 29, 2025
Today we’re going to be talking about three types of traders. Over the past 15+ years we’ve trained a lot of traders through our courses, and more recently our memberships and mentorship programs. And throughout that process we’ve noticed that at the end of the day you can reduce all the various trading styles and personalities into three main groups or types of traders. My hope is by sharing these with you, it will help you identify which group you’re in, and how to advance forward in light of that.
By Ben Mitchell September 29, 2025
Today we’re going to be talking about three types of traders. Over the past 15+ years we’ve trained a lot of traders through our courses, and more recently our memberships and mentorship programs. And throughout that process we’ve noticed that at the end of the day you can reduce all the various trading styles and personalities into three main groups or types of traders. My hope is by sharing these with you, it will help you identify which group you’re in, and how to advance forward in light of that.
Show More