How nice would it be to nothaveto work for a living?

And with good reasonits a pretty awesome deal if you start saving early.

Note that a Roth IRA is different from a traditional IRA.

Weve run down thedifferent types of IRAs here, but the most common options are the Traditional and Roth.

However, when it comes time to withdraw the money at retirement, youll pay taxes then.

The Roth IRA offerstax-free growth.

Lets take a closer look at each of its advantages.

Youll pay taxes now, but at a lower rate since youre potentially in a lower bracket.

Plus, there are certain income limits for funding a Roth.

You might as well get in and start saving while youre eligible.

The Roths tax advantage also helps you hedge against future tax hikes.

Of course, youll still have to pay taxes on that money since it was deferred.

Theres no penalty, and you wont have to pay taxes (youve already paid them!)

This liquidity can be a big perk.

However, a better idea might be to save that money in your Roth IRA.

You dont get to do that with a Traditional IRA.

Its a tax break for low to moderate income taxpayers who also have a Roth IRA.

Thus, you could claim up to $1,000 on your tax bill.

Second, there are income limits.

Here are the thresholds for 2015,according to the IRS:

Many taxpayers arent aware of this credit.

This is called arequired minimum distribution, or RMD.

This can push some people into a higher tax bracket.

Not a problem with the Roth IRA, which doesnt include a required minimum distribution.

You have the flexibility to take out however much (or little) money you want each year.

Thats the general contribution limit: $5,500.

There is a way to get around this though: its called theBackdoor Roth IRA.

With this technique, you fund a traditional IRA, then convert it into a Roth.

For now, there are no income limits for converting, so you could fund a Roth that way.

There are a few mistakes you might make with the backdoor method, andMorningstar runs down some potential snags.

The Roth IRA is popular for a reason: it comes with a ton of great perks.

Either way, the most important thing is that youre saving for retirement to begin with.

There are a handful of perks that come with the Roth, but nothing beats reaching financial independence.

Image by Nick Criscuolo.