3 IRA Goals to Put on Your Radar in 2024
If you want to be in a position to enjoy retirement without ongoing financial worries, it’s a smart idea to save consistently throughout your career. And if you don’t have access to a 401(k) plan from your employer for retirement savings, you can always use an IRA instead.
In fact, you may already have an IRA. Ideally, this is a well-balanced IRA. But whether you currently have an IRA or not, if you plan to contribute to an IRA in 2024, there are three goals you’ll want to achieve.
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1. Maximize your contribution
Getting the most out of your 401(k) plan isn’t easy. Next year, 401(k) limits will increase to $23,000 for workers under 50 and $30,500 for workers 50 and older.
On the other hand, maxing out your IRA may be much more feasible, even if your average wage is higher. In 2024, IRAs will be allowed up to $7,000 for savers under 50 and $8,000 for savers over 50.
Additionally, if you’re saving for retirement in a traditional IRA, every dollar you contribute up to the aforementioned limits is a dollar of income that won’t be taxed by the IRS. When saving in a Roth IRA, the more money you contribute, the more opportunities you have to enjoy tax-free benefits.
2. Expand investment mix
One of the great things about IRAs is that they generally allow you to invest in individual stocks. With a 401(k), you are typically limited to a variety of funds that do not give you direct control over the portfolio.
But one thing you might want to do is branch out into an IRA. This means making sure you’re investing in stocks from a variety of market sectors.
Is there another good option? Invest in broad market index funds. not S&P 500 Index funds, like overall stock market funds, provide high exposure to the overall stock market while eliminating much of the legwork required to research individual companies.
3. Check your investments at appropriate intervals
One mistake some IRA savers make is checking their portfolio very frequently and reacting to losses on the screen. Commit to checking your IRA roughly once a quarter in 2024. Anything more than that is probably overkill.
Remember that your IRA investments are inherently long-term investments. So you don’t have to stress about your weekly performance. A quarterly check-in is sufficient as it helps ensure that your portfolio is well-balanced. That way, you won’t be constantly tempted to abandon investments that have temporarily fallen.
With the new year just around the corner, now is a great time to commit to a variety of financial moves that can set you up for success. So, commit to meeting these IRA goals in 2024. If you do that, you can actually build up a lot of retirement assets to support your future self.
