Do you have an individual retirement account? If you are not thinking ahead to your retirement years, there is no better time to start then now! An individual retirement account could save you money on taxes, and let you to look forward to a secure income later . When opening your individual retirement account, consider choosing a self-directed IRA that offers you a far greater range of investment options. The individual retirement account has traditionally been invested very conservatively, in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds and numerous individuals have suffered account losses due to the wild fluctuations in the stock market. With a self-directed individual retirement account, investors are able to choose real estate and real estate notes, tax liens, and even precious metals as the investment vehicle for their account. In our current economic climate, these alternate investments provide more stability and increased opportunity for growth and profit. Opening a self-directed individual retirement account requires the investor to make some choices. Choose a custodial company that allows the kind of investment you are interested in. Expertise with these investments can make working with the custodian much easier . Learn about the services the custodian provides , so there are no unexpected fees for transactions, maintenance and bookkeeping on the individual retirement account. A good custodial company should also offer ongoing investment education for their clients to better inform them about trends, products and other available services. Will your self-directed individual retirement account be a Roth IRA or a Traditional IRA? There are benefits with both and you must explore the options. The Roth IRA offers tax-free distributions, since contributions are made with taxed income. If your income level qualifies you for a Roth IRA, you could fund now and take the tax-advantaged withdrawals at any time after age 59 ½ provided the account has been open for at least five years. With taxes on the rise, tax-free distributions could be a great benefit in your retirement years. Traditional IRA’s will be taxed at withdrawal, at the tax rate current when distributed. If you feel that your tax rate will be lower when you start taking distributions , this is the individual retirement account to consider. The individual retirement account is critical to building retirement security, so make the commitment to open yours now !