what does ira stand for 
the acronym ira is used to refer to two distinct but overlapping concepts for the internal revenue service the term stands for individual retirement arrangement a selection of plans available that provide tax advantages to people saving for retirement 22in common usage ira also stands for individual retirement account or a type of plan that one can pay into throughout their career and withdraw from in retirement in such cases a plan would be both a retirement account for a specific person as well as an individual retirement arrangement in the eyes of the irs 