Robinhood Unveils IRAs With 1% Match, Opens Waitlist
Tools that can make retirement saving easier are often not available to the gig economy, Robinhood said.
Robinhood on Tuesday announced an individual retirement account offering that will provide customers a 1% match and access to stocks and exchange-traded funds, with no commissions or account minimums.
The investing app, on its blog, offered the Robinhood Retirement waiting list for the accounts, which the company said were the only IRAs to offer a match on contributions. Investors can choose a traditional or Roth IRA and build a custom portfolio using in-app recommendations, their own choices or a mix, the firm said.
Investors can sign up to apply for early access and will receive approval on a rolling basis over the following weeks, with full availability in January, according to the post. They can achieve earlier access to a retirement account by referring a friend who signs up.
“People are relying on themselves,” the company said in the post. “They’re taking on gig work, side hustles and building their own companies. Tools that can make it easier to save for retirement — such as automatic transfers from a paycheck or contribution matching — are often not available to the gig economy.”
Robinhood linked to a Pew Charitable Trusts article citing research showing a wide range of estimates for nontraditional workers, to as much as 40.4% of America’s workforce.
“We believe that saving for retirement should be easy and accessible to all, and not dependent on where or how you work,” Robinhood said, citing a recent Pew survey showing high demand for retirement plans among nontraditional workers.
Fees may apply and the match is capped at IRS limits for IRA contributions, according to Robinhood, which requires that contributions come from external sources. The 2023 IRS contribution limit for those under 50 years old is $6,500, which would bring a $65 match for the year; the IRA contribution limit for those 50 and older will be $7,500.
The match is not counted toward the contribution limit and is considered interest income in the account.
Once a customer contributes, they’ll have instant access to funds to start investing, up to $1,000.
Robinhood, which isn’t profitable, slashed its workforce this year, citing high inflation and the crypto market crash and resulting further erosion in customer trading activity and assets under custody, and a slowdown in the heightened retail engagement seen earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic.
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