TDA vs IRA: which is better?

Answer Question Report Abuse

Dmitriy Fomichenko, President, Sense Financial

@dfomichenko • 03/18/16 This answer was first published on 03/18/16. For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.

Permalink Report Abuse

If you are offered a matching contribution from your school with the TDA, be sure to take advantage of that. It's essentially a guaranteed return that you can hardly get elsewhere.

Then assuming that your income is within the IRA deductible limit, the choice depends on investment options. With TDA, your investment choices are often very limited. You would be able to access a much wider variety of investment products with an IRA and can potentially lower the fees. So if you're not happy with the returns or fees that come with the TDA investment options, max out the IRA contributions first.

Answer Question

WalletHub Answers is a free service that helps consumers access financial information. Information on WalletHub Answers is provided “as is” and should not be considered financial, legal or investment advice. WalletHub is not a financial advisor, law firm, “lawyer referral service,” or a substitute for a financial advisor, attorney, or law firm. You may want to hire a professional before making any decision. WalletHub does not endorse any particular contributors and cannot guarantee the quality or reliability of any information posted. The helpfulness of a financial advisor's answer is not indicative of future advisor performance.

WalletHub members have a wealth of knowledge to share, and we encourage everyone to do so while respecting our content guidelines. This question was posted by a WalletHub user. Please keep in mind that editorial and user-generated content on this page is not reviewed or otherwise endorsed by any financial institution. In addition, it is not a financial institution’s responsibility to ensure all posts and questions are answered.

Ad Disclosure: Certain offers that appear on this site originate from paying advertisers, and this will be noted on an offer’s details page using the designation "Sponsored", where applicable. Advertising may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). At WalletHub we try to present a wide array of offers, but our offers do not represent all financial services companies or products.

Ask a Question

140

Ask Question

Ask Your Question

WalletHub Transparency

We are committed to being fully transparent with our readers. Opinions expressed here are the author’s and/or WalletHub editors'. WalletHub editorial content on this page is not provided, commissioned, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any company. In addition, it is not any company’s responsibility to ensure all questions are answered.