Re: Additional retirement investment options

> The IRA is a good deal even if your income is too high to postpone
> taxes.

Thanks again to everyone for all the input.

I've spent the last several days wading through IRS pubs
and the internet and have determined that both my wife
and I can fully fund individual IRA's (separate from our
401k accounts) up to the normal limits. I've run the
numbers and it makes sense.

Here's the deal -- we can contribute the max to the new
IRAs, but the contributions are non-deductible. (bummer)

The good news is that the gains grow tax-free until
we pull the funds out. Based on the amount we'll be
investing, our current tax rates, our assumed rates
of return and our best guess at the inflation rate, I've
run a spreadsheet model that shows that this is a good
route to go if we plan on sticking with it for at least
8 years. Prior to the 9th year, if we need the money
and have to pull it out early, then it's a losing proposition
because of the penalty for early withdrawal. After the
9th year, the extra gains that are not taxed begin to
more than offset any penalty for early withdrawal.

One caveat -- there's a minimal amount of paperwork
the IRS requires (form 8606) for funding an IRA in a
"non-deductible" maner. It's a single form, and it's
pretty easy to fill out every year.

I'll also have additional admin come withdrawal time
as the original money went in with taxes already paid
so there's some figuring to do when pulling it out. I'll
only have to pay taxes on  the gain, not the money I
initially put in.

Based on the model spreadsheet I built, I think
this is a definite "no-brainer" as it results in
significant extra gains as the years go by because
the gains are not taxed until withdrawal.

Not quite as good as the Roth that I'm not
eligible for, but good enough that I'm going
ahead with it.