what are the advantages of an individual retirement account ira 
an ira offers a tax advantaged way to save for retirement depending on what type of ira you use it can reduce your tax bill either when you make contributions or when you take withdrawals in retirement investment gains are tax deferred for a traditional ira or tax free for a roth ira that means contributing money towards your retirement either reduces your taxes on income for the year or eliminates the taxes from your retirement money iras are insured by the federal deposit insurance corp fdic a government run agency that provides protection when a financial institution fails the fdic covers customer deposits up to 250 000 per account in most cases that are held at fdic insured banks or savings and loan associations 23