No fees, low minimums. A saver could open a myRA with as little as $25, and thereafter, contributions of any size would be allowed, with minimums of as little as $5. That departs from the savings-bond  model, in which bonds can only be amassed in fixed denominations of $50 and up. Savers also wouldn’t pay any fees on their accounts. Although many big financial-services companies have eliminated their annual fees on traditional IRAs, those that do still charge fees can eat up a substantial percentage of the earnings of beginning savers.

It’s not attached to your job. Employers won’t be administering, or paying administrative costs for, the myRA—the Treasury Department is going to pick a private sector firm to take care of that. The administration will need employers’ help on one level, however: They want myRAs to be funded by paycheck deductions, which employers would need to set up. The White House says no employer will be forced to take part in the myRA. President Obama has also proposed a separate provision that would require employers who don’t offer retirement plans to set up automatic IRA deductions for their workers, but that would require an act of Congress.

Funded after-tax. The myRA will be structured like a Roth IRA account, which means savers will fund it with after-tax dollars—rather than with a pre-tax deduction, as with a 401(k). That would also mean that under most circumstances, eventual withdrawals from the account wouldn’t be taxed.

Once the account reaches $15,000 you'll be required to transfer to your Roth IRA.