Financial Glossary

Here you’ll find clear and concise explanations of key financial terms and concepts. Our goal is to help you better understand essential topics across the financial world.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Featured
Withholding
Will

Y

Featured
Yield Curve
Yield

Z

Featured
Zero-Coupon Bond

0-9

August Jepsen August Jepsen

Spousal IRA

A spousal IRA is a tax-advantaged retirement account that allows a working spouse to contribute to an IRA in the name of a non-working or lower-earning spouse, enabling both partners to save for retirement even if one spouse has little or no earned income.​

The spousal IRA is not a special type of IRA—it can be a traditional or Roth IRA—but it is structured according to IRS rules for married couples filing jointly. Contributions must come from the working spouse's income, and the couple must file taxes jointly. The account is owned solely by the non-working spouse, who controls the investments and withdrawals, regardless of who contributed the funds. For 2025, each spouse can contribute up to $7,000 ($8,000 if age 50 or older), provided the working spouse’s income equals or exceeds the total contributions to both IRAs.​

This arrangement helps couples accumulate more tax-advantaged retirement savings, offers flexibility on deductibility based on income and workplace retirement coverage, and is especially valuable for single-earner households.

Read More