In a 2006 survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, even though 73 percent of retirees indicated that they think they will have enough money for a comfortable retirement, 42 percent admitted that they are more concerned about their financial future.

Many workers today have unrealistic expectations about how much income they will need to maintain a comfortable lifestyle in retirement. Your retirement, like any other time in your life, may be marketed by financial ups and downs. A well-thought-out strategy, including an individual retirement account (IRA) can help you stay on a path toward a comfortable retirement.

Traditional IRA or Roth IRA

What's the Difference? Tax Deductions or Tax-Free Earnings?

Traditional IRA - The traditional IRA is an account which allows you to defer taxes on your earnings until they are withdrawn. Also, certain contributions are tax deductible in the year they are made.

Roth IRA - The Roth IRA is a nondeductible account that features tax-free withdrawals for certain distribution reasons after a five-year holding period. Since Roth IRA contributions are nondeductible and taxed in the year they are earned, people, who expect to be in a higher tax bracket when they retire may benefit more from these accounts than from a traditional IRA.

Talk with a Baylake Bank Customer Service Representative near you for more information about the IRA that's right for you.

Consult your tax advisor.