OP, you should do what was suggested- Roth or traditional IRA based on your income.
Find a job that has a 401K and matching program. You will miss out on a massive retirement benefit without a 401K and matching.
Someone mentioned a pension- my DH was only offered one job with a pension and it was in the public sector. He had one in the private sector but it was two decades ago.

Are you a w2 or a 1099 employee? If 1099 (aka a contractor), you can open a self employed 401k. You can then contribute both the 29k max, plus some amount on the “employer” side. My accountant helps me calculate the total allowed each year. It took me a few years of consulting to realize that this was an option.

Anonymous wrote:NP here. Kaiser still offers pensions. Quite a few employers offer this benefit.

No they don't. Workers with private pensions have dropped by 60% over the last decades. Outside DC, almost no one under 50 has pensions. No one I know, except my mom's friends and family.

IRA and Roth IRA are the way to go.
Ask your small company if they would consider opening a Simple IRA for employees. They are cheaper and much easier for employers to administer.

NP here. Kaiser still offers pensions. Quite a few employers offer this benefit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To clarify, you can't create your own 401(k) - that's through your employer, so no direct deduction from your paycheck. You can make your own IRA, but with no matching contribution, of course. In the meantime, you should really seek out an employer that offers a 401(k) and a pension, if possible.

Oh yeah! You really should seek out those pension jobs

Maybe the poster can also seek out a time capsule to bring her back to 1980.

Amazing how out of touch these government cube dwelling drones are.

Umm, there are plenty of jobs out there that still have pensions, if you're willing to work in the public sector. And I don't think I've ever looked at a private sector job that didn't offer a 401(k). It's exceedingly rare for salaried positions not to offer one or the other, and a decent number of jobs do offer both. Totally reasonable for OP to consider that in job hunting.

You can’t if your employer doesn’t offer one.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To clarify, you can't create your own 401(k) - that's through your employer, so no direct deduction from your paycheck. You can make your own IRA, but with no matching contribution, of course. In the meantime, you should really seek out an employer that offers a 401(k) and a pension, if possible.

Oh yeah! You really should seek out those pension jobs

Maybe the poster can also seek out a time capsule to bring her back to 1980.

Amazing how out of touch these government cube dwelling drones are.

Anonymous wrote:To clarify, you can't create your own 401(k) - that's through your employer, so no direct deduction from your paycheck. You can make your own IRA, but with no matching contribution, of course. In the meantime, you should really seek out an employer that offers a 401(k) and a pension, if possible.

Oh yeah! You really should seek out those pension jobs

To clarify, you can't create your own 401(k) - that's through your employer, so no direct deduction from your paycheck. You can make your own IRA, but with no matching contribution, of course. In the meantime, you should really seek out an employer that offers a 401(k) and a pension, if possible.

IRA or Roth IRA

My current emloyer does not offer a 401k. How do I go about contributing in such a case? Are there 401k providers who would automatically deduct from my pay stubs and what are the costs?