[net.taxes] IRA for everyone?

kane@hou2b.UUCP (J.KANE) (02/29/84)

  An IRA is a clear winner if you can put 2K away for retirement each
year.  I am 25 years old and would like to take advantage of the tax
savings an IRA offers, but realize I will probably need the money
for a house in a few years.

My question is -- How many years must the money stay in an IRA to
show a decent profit? Presumably the 10% penalty for early withdrawal
will not hurt you too much if you participated in an IRA for several
years.  Does anyone have a program that inputs the expected 
annual IRA return, and the number of years you participated and spits
out what your net return is after deducting taxes and penalties?

--hou2b!kane
--John Kane