Hi everyone and welcome back to Money Girls Quick and Dirty Tips for a richer life.

I'm Laura Adams. Workplace retirement plans like 401k's and 403b's are fantastic ways to save for retirement. But what if you don't have access to one?

Gail Carager recently made a post on the Money Girl Facebook page and said,

while I understand most of your listeners are probably regular employee types,

do you think you could do some segments for those of us who are

self-employed? We don't have the advantages of 401k's and the like. What should we be doing

differently to say for retirement? Gail, thanks for the great question.

This podcast is for you.

I'll tell you what options you do have to save for retirement to ensure that you have a secure

financial future.

As Gail mentioned, many people don't have the option to invest in a retirement

account at work. That might be the case if you're between jobs, or self-employed,

work for a small business that doesn't offer benefits, or are a stay-at-home spouse for instance.

Well, don't let that stop you from reaching your retirement dreams.

Thankfully, there are other types of accounts that you can use to achieve your long-term

financial goals. No matter your situation, just about everyone can contribute to

an IRA or individual retirement arrangement. That's why I consider it the cornerstone of retirement savings.

An IRA is a personal savings plan that has nothing to do with your work. You open it, fund it, and control it yourself. The only requirement to contribute

to an IRA is that you have some amount of earned income or have a spouse with earned income. The amount of money you can contribute to an IRA is based on your age and income.

You can contribute an amount that matches your taxable compensation up to $5,000, or $6,000 if you're age 50 or older for 2010.

For example, if you're 18 years old and make $4,000 from a part-time job this year,

the maximum amount that you can contribute is 4,000, not 5,000.

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