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> Other info: -We’re in our 30s -Husband makes a good income (above $130k)

If you file jointly, you can contribute the max amount to your traditional or Roth IRA.

I don’t have one of those. How might I open one? Is it too late for this year?

You can open and contribute for 2022 until tax day (4/18/2023). This is true for every year - you always have 3.5 extra months to contribute after the year is over. Read the IRA wiki.

Yes, you can still open one for this year and you can contribute for 2022 until April 15th 2023.

I recommend one of the big brokerages (fidelity, vanguard, Schwab) or the same that your husband uses.

Contribute $500 per month or max $6000 per year to a Roth IRA. You can still contribute for 2022 until April 15, 2023. You can contribute to a Roth IRA under your husbands income. You cannot contribute to a traditional IRA because you yourself have no earned income. You can do this at a bank or online or at a financial advisement company. Rates will vary but are generally very low for this. You can also make an appt w a fiduciary advisor at a bank or elsewhere. This will be free.

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So can wewe contribute $12k/year since it is joint? My husband already maxes out his contribution

My understanding is that he can max out his 401K or traditional IRA contribution and then you can each contribute $6000 for a total of $12K/year to a Roth IRA. BTW, if you were to split up, you would be entitled to half of his 401K earnings since you didn’t work during the marriage.

And try not to think of the Roth IRA as joint. All IRAs are individual accounts.

You need 40 quarters with some taxable income to qualify for Medicare on your own. That’s a good goal to shoot for, it’s pretty easy to work a few hours a week someplace low-stress.

You can/should use household income to open and fund your IRA. Your spouse’s income counts.

You can put 6k in yours, he can put 6k in his

> You cannot contribute to a traditional IRA because you yourself have no earned income.

This is wrong. Each spouse can contribute to traditional or Roth IRA as long as the joint taxable compensation (W-2 from both spouses combined) exceed the contributions.

If OP contributes to traditional IRA, the tax deduction reduces the joint income as well.

Thanks for the clarification!

My spouse is a stay at home parent and we each have a Roth IRA and we contribute the max to each annually. 2022 max is 6,000 per account (12k)and 2023 bumps up to 6,500 (13k total)

Thank you. I worked for 8 years before kids and need 2 more to qualify, which I do plan to do at some point

Do you do this manually or as some kind of direct transfer from a paycheck?

You should do it from the IRA provider -- have the IRA provider pull money from your checking account.

If you direct deposit into an IRA and the employer messes up the deposit, they'll also cause unnecessary tax problems for your IRA as well.

He can max out his 401(k) AND ( not or) an IRA, AND she can max her own IRA, also known as a spousal IRA, for a total of $12,000 in combined IRA contributions.

Also, she would not be automatically entitled to half of his 401k earnings in a divorce. I’ve noticed you are giving advice that is incorrect, more than once. Please consider deleting or editing your comments, they could negatively impact others, and perpetuate poor understanding of personal finance.

Got it. Will zip it. Thanks.

Why is a child in daycare if you’re a stay at home parent? Once they grown up you’ll be working and putting money into a 401k also

Get a part time job at least to ease back into the workforce.

What is the main wage earner has over 40 quarters of wages? Will the spouse qualify for Medicare? And SS?

Yes but I’m not sure if the details. I know there are “married for 10 years” rules etc.

I used to "save enough for both of us" until I finally maxed out my annual contribution limits, then I had my spouse begin saving/investing on our behalf too. By that time, they had gone back to work and had income of their own.