I'm a post-doc at a government facility. I"m not an employee, nor am I a contracter. I'm on a "fellowship" through a program called ORISE. They're very clear that this is not wages, it's a stipend to cover living expenses. I pay quarterly estimated income taxes, but SS and medicare are not withheld from my checks each month, nothing is withheld. I was told that I cannot contribute to IRAs because I'm not earning taxed income. I can sort of see this but at the same time I don't. Am I disqualified from a traditional IRA? If so, can my husband make spousal contributions into an IRA in my name as a work around? I assume that even though the govt is making it clear I'm not making "income", my stipend is still going to be used against us when determining MAGI and phase out limits for the IRA deduction. If this is the case, I'm one of the highest earning technically unemployed people I know. Which seems like bullshit to me. They get their income taxes and I don't get to have a tax advantaged retirement account.
The scenario
Me: "not employed", earning $69,500 gross, no benefits (retirement, health insurance or otherwise), I started this position in June, and won't have income listed from Jan-May.
Husband: $80,000 gross, with access to a 401k program at work.
We aren't currently maxing out the 401k ( yes I know, that would be one solution to this), mainly because we're paying off student loans and stashing cash for a house. Our contribution is around 12k a year. I want to have the option of depositing extra bits of money when it comes along into an IRA, but from what I got told today, that's not allowed. Any suggestions?