Data on Contributions to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)

Data on Contributions to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)

INSIGHTi
Data on Contributions to Individual
Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
August 12, 2021
Individuals can save for retirement in two types of tax-advantaged accounts: defined contribution (DC)
and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). DC plans are employer-sponsored retirement plans in which
contributions from a worker, the employer, or both are placed in an individual account. Individuals with
wage income can also contribute to IRAs, which are privately held retirement savings accounts.
Contributions—and any investment earnings—in DC accounts and IRAs can be used as a source of
income in retirement. Both DC accounts and IRAs may accept rollovers. Rollovers—transfers of funds
from one retirement account to another—preserve the tax advantages of retirement savings. This Insight
provides Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data on contributions to IRAs in 2018. Congress has an interest
in contribution data because (1) the tax expenditures for retirement plans (estimated to be $23.8 bil ion for
IRAs and $153.6 bil ion for DC plans in FY2020) are one of the largest categories of revenue losses
attributable to provisions in the tax code, and (2) recent legislation has included provisions that would
modify contribution limits for certain individuals. CRS Insight IN11721, Data on Retirement
Contributions to Defined Contribution (DC) Plans provides similar data for DC accounts.
The tax benefits of IRAs depend on whether the account is a traditional or a Roth account. Contributions
to traditional IRAs may be tax deductible in the year in which they are made based on income limits and
depending on whether the account holder or spouse has a pension plan at his or her work. Investment
earnings in traditional IRAs accumulate on a tax-deferred basis. Withdrawals from traditional IRAs
(except for amounts attributed to non-deductible contributions) are included in taxable income when
received. Contributions to Roth IRAs are not tax deductible in the year in which they are made.
Investment earnings accumulate on a tax-free basis: Qualified distributions from a Roth account (those
taken by an individual who has held the account for five years and made after death, on account of
disability, or on or after attainment of age 59½) are not included in taxable income.
Individuals’ contributions to IRAs are subject to annual contribution limits. In 2018 (the most recent year
for which contribution data from the IRS is available), an individual could contribute up to the lesser of
(1) his or her wage income for the year or (2) $5,500 to his or her IRA. Individuals age 50 and older could
make an additional $1,000 catch-up contribution to their IRAs. The IRA contribution limit is adjusted
annual y for inflation, while the $1,000 IRA catch-up contribution is not.
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IN11722
CRS INSIGHT
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Contributions to IRAs
Table 1 provides data on contributions to traditional IRAs in 2018. About 4.4 mil ion taxpayers
contributed to traditional IRAs, with an average contribution of $4,198. More than 50% of individuals
who made contributions to their traditional IRAs contributed the maximum amount. Between 5% and 6%
of taxpayers age 50 and older (not in Table 1) made catch-up contributions of less than the maximum
$1,000 amount.
Table 1. Contributions to Traditional IRAs
Tax Year 2018
Percentage of
Percentage of
Contributors
Taxpayers Age 50
Number of
Making the
Average Non-
and Older Making
Contributing
Average
Maximum
Maximum
Any Catch-Up
Age Group
Taxpayers
Contribution
Contribution
Contribution
Contribution
Al
4,434,230
$4,198
50.7%
$2,242
n/a
Under 35
554,856
$3,286
42.8%
$1,627
n/a
35 to under 50
1,299,688
$3,777
50.7%
$2,008
n/a
50 to under 65
2,086,543
$4,547
51.2%
$2,501
56.8%
65 to under
70½
492,134
$4,853
57.5%
$2,626
62.6%
Source: CRS analysis of Internal Revenue Service Statistics of Income, Accumulation and Distribution of Individual
Retirement Arrangements (IRA), Table 5: Taxpayers with Traditional Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA)
Contributions, by Size of Contribution and Age of Taxpayer, Tax Year 2018, https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-
accumulation-and-distribution-of-individual-retirement-arrangements.
Notes: In 2018 (the latest year for which data is available), there were 144.6 mil ion taxpayers with wage income. In 2018,
the IRA contribution limit for individuals was $5,500. Individuals age 50 and older could make an additional $1,000 catch-
up contribution. Prior to 2020, individuals could not contribute to traditional IRAs in or after the year in which they
turned 70½. Maximum contributions refer only to taxpayers who contribute the exact amount of the limit. The maximum
contribution for taxpayers whose earned income fal s below the contribution limit is lower and is not captured in this
table. In addition, the contribution limit applies to al of an individual’s IRAs, so individuals who contribute the maximum
amount but split contributions between traditional and Roth IRAs are not recorded in the data as having contributed the
maximum amount.
Table 2 provides data on contributions to Roth IRAs in 2018. Over 7 mil ion taxpayers contributed to
Roth IRAs, with an average contribution of $3,408. More than one-third of taxpayers who contributed to
Roth IRAs in 2018 contributed the maximum amount. Between 7% and 10% of taxpayers age 50 and
older (not in Table 2) made catch-up contributions of less than the maximum $1,000 amount.
Table 2. Contributions to Roth IRAs
Tax Year 2018
Percentage of
Percentage of
Taxpayers Age
Contributors
50 and Older
Number of
Making the
Average Non-
Making Any
Contributing
Average
Maximum
Maximum
Catch-Up
Age Group
Taxpayers
Contribution
Contribution
Contribution
Contribution
Al
7,118,775
$3,408
33.9%
$2,099
n/a

Congressional Research Service
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Under 35
2,209,024
$2,395
32.3%
$1,714
n/a
35 to under 50
2,287,494
$2,919
26.1%
$2,008
n/a
50 to under 65
2,120,774
$4,112
40.1%
$2,512
47.5%
65 and over
501,483
$4,744
50.9%
$2,927
61.2%
Source: CRS analysis of Internal Revenue Service Statistics of Income, Accumulation and Distribution of Individual
Retirement Arrangements (IRA), Table 6: Taxpayers with Roth Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) Contributions, by
Size of Contribution and Age of Taxpayer, Tax Year 2018, https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-accumulation-and-
distribution-of-individual-retirement-arrangements.
Notes: In 2018 (the latest year for which data is available), there were 144.6 mil ion taxpayers with wage income. In 2018,
the IRA contribution limit for individuals was $5,500. Individuals age 50 and older could make an additional $1,000 catch-
up contribution. Maximum contributions refer only to taxpayers who contribute the exact amount of the limit. The
maximum contribution for taxpayers whose earned income fal s below the contribution limit is lower and is not captured
in this table. In addition, the contribution limit applies to al of an individual’s IRAs, so individuals who contribute the
maximum amount but split contributions between traditional and Roth IRAs are not recorded in the data as having
contributed the maximum amount.

Author Information

Elizabeth A. Myers
John J. Topoleski
Analyst in Income Security
Specialist in Income Security

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IN11722 · VERSION 1 · NEW