What is the difference between an IRA and an IRA Certificate?

An IRA (Individual Retirement Account) can be thought of as an individual savings account that has tax benefits. You open an IRA for yourself (that's why it's called an individual retirement account) and if you have a spouse, you'll each have a separate account. An important distinction to make is that an IRA is not an investment itself; rather, it is an account where you keep investments such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds. You get to choose the investments in the account, and can change the investments if you wish. Your return depends on the performance of the investments held in the IRA account. An IRA continues to accumulate contributions and interest until you reach retirement age, meaning you could have an IRA for decades before making any withdrawals.

IRAs are defined and regulated by the IRS, which sets eligibility requirements, limits on how and when you can make contributions, takes distributions, and determines the tax treatment for the various types of IRA accounts.