• What is a target-date fund?
• What is adjusted gross income (AGI)?
• What is ShareBuilder?
• What is the difference between FDIC insurance and SIPC protection?
• What is a CD and how does it work?
• What is an exchange-traded fund (ETF)?
• Do I have to have an ING DIRECT account to open an IRA?
• What are the current contribution limits for an IRA?

1. What is a target-date fund?

Target-date funds are also called "lifecycle" funds. They provide an easy option for retirement investing. Just pick the fund with a year closest to your expected retirement date. The closer you get to your retirement date, the more conservative the fund's investments will be.

2. What is adjusted gross income (AGI)?

Your adjusted gross income (AGI) is what the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses to figure out how much you owe in income taxes. For Traditional IRAs, your modified adjusted gross income determines how much of your contributions to the IRA can be deducted from your taxes. For Roth IRAs, your modified adjusted gross income determines if you can contribute at all, and if so, how much.

3. What is ShareBuilder?

ShareBuilder is an online investment brokerage that is part of ING DIRECT. It gives investors a simple, flexible, and affordable way to meet long-term investing goals. ShareBuilder has no account minimums.

4. What is the difference between FDIC insurance and SIPC protection?

Savings
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures deposits up to $250,000 in accounts held at FDIC member banks. It is meant to protect account owners in case a bank fails and cannot refund their money. IRA Savings Accounts and IRA CDs opened with ING Bank, fsb, are FDIC-insured.

Investments
The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) provides account protection for securities and cash in a brokerage account. Unlike FDIC insurance, it is meant to protect investors in case their brokerage firm fails financially and is unable to meet its obligations to its clients. This account protection does not protect against losses from the rise and fall in the market value of investments. ShareBuilder accounts have SIPC account protection.

5. What is a CD and how does it work?

A CD is a certificate of deposit, which is a bank deposit that is guaranteed to pay a certain amount of interest over a period of time. The terms (the life of the CD) range from 6 months to 5 years. Generally, the longer the term, the more interest is paid. Interest in CDs is accrued daily and compounded monthly.

6. What is an exchange-traded fund (ETF)?

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is similar to a mutual fund in many ways, but it trades like a stock on a stock market. It's like a mutual fund because it allows you to own a collection of underlying stocks or investments. The investments could be focused on tracking familiar indexes (like the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500). Other ETFs could focus on a specific industry or a style of stock. However, unlike mutual funds, ETFs are generally not actively-managed.

ETFs trade like stocks because they can be bought and sold on a stock market and their prices can go up and down throughout the day when the market is open.

7. Do I have to have an ING DIRECT account to open an IRA?

Savings

If you want to open an IRA Savings Account and IRA CDs, you first need to have an Orange Savings Account, Orange CD, or Electric Orange with ING DIRECT.

Investments

If you want to open a ShareBuilder IRA, you do not have to be an existing ShareBuilder or ING DIRECT Customer.

Open an IRA

8. What are the current contribution limits for an IRA?

The contribution limits and deadlines for 2010 and 2011 are shown below:

• Tax Year 2010: $5,000 by 4/18/2011
• Tax Year 2011: $5,000 by 4/15/2012

Age 50+ can add $1,000 per year as a "catch-up" contribution.

Your modified adjusted gross income (AGI) could affect if and how much you can contribute to a Roth IRA.

Learn more about contributions to Traditional and Roth IRAs