I recently became self employed (by choice) =) I need to start investing for the future. Where do I start. I dont think I want an annuity. Are there any other options for me besides an IRA or Roth IRA?
Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
OO-Shillelagh@si.rr.com

Greetings, OOfahShill, and welcome. You asked:

I recently became self employed (by choice) =) I need to start investing for the future. Where do I start. I dont think I want an annuity. Are there any other options for me besides an IRA or Roth IRA?

As a Self-employed person, you may use a SEP, SIMPLE or Keogh plan. You will find a brief description of all three in my Foolish Retirement Plan Primer at http://www.fool.com/Retirement/RetirementPlanPrimer.htm. You should also download and read IRS Publication 560 (Retirement Plans for Small Business) available at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/forms_pubs/pubs.html. You have more options than you think.

Regard..Pixy

I would also add that you can do a money purchase plan to put away up to 25% of your salary and if you are old enough you can do a defined benefit plan. It all depends on how much you want to put away. Don't forget about your business as well. Many small business owners plan to use their business as part of their retirement plan, if you can build up the value over your working lifetime it can be a substantial asset in retirement. Make sure you protect it with proper entity selection and make sure your plan on how you want to dispose of it in retirement is consistent with your legal documents.

Matt Tuttle

As far as I know, you can also start a keogh plan with up to 15% of your income.