The NY Times thinks the IRA is overlooked.  Many of us are still not using the Traditional or Roth IRA and millions of Americans (57%) have no retirement plan at work. 

WITH so much contradictory advice floating around, it is sometimes hard to figure out the best way to save for retirement.

Financial experts say that one often-overlooked resource is the humble Individual Retirement Account, or I.R.A., which has been a part of the personal finance landscape for so long that many of us take it for granted.

More than 90 percent of the money that flows into traditional I.R.A.’s is being rolled over from retirement plans at work, like 401(k)’s. On the other hand, only 14 percent of American households that were eligible to make direct I.R.A. contributions did so in 2006, according to the most recent data from the Investment Company Institute, the mutual fund industry trade group.

The rules for some I.R.A. contributions are so complex that many Americans may not realize they are eligible to make them, said Brian Reid, the chief economist at the Investment Company Institute. Indeed, the I.R.A. rules fill a 108-page brochure on the Internal Revenue Service Web site.

Courtesy of NYTimes.com April 27