# IRA's for expats



## deyo

What, if any, US IRA's can I sign up for living abroad with no address in the States? I don't pay into SS in the States but would like to set up some type of retirement plan. Please give advice. Age 44


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## larabell

I was able to sign up for a Rollover IRA through E*Trade using my Japanese address. But I couldn't do it online. I contacted Customer Support and they sent me a PDF application form which I filled out and sent in via regular postal mail. It might make a difference that I already had a brokerage account from when I lived in the States but I got the impression that they were willing to open an account for any US citizens, even living abroad, but that the quick online signup only works for US addresses.


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## BBCWatcher

E*Trade gets some good reports, yes, and I'd also include Schwab since they seem to be willing to work with Americans living overseas. Scottrade would probably work in the couple countries outside the U.S. where they do business though not elsewhere. (There was a thread here that provided a long list of brokerages willing to work with Americans living overseas, but for some reason it went missing. Maybe it's somewhere in the Internet archives?)

Note that you can open an IRA at most U.S. banks and credit unions. Then you can transfer that IRA to another institution later if you wish (and if you want more investment choices). So if you're just not having any luck with brokers, try a bank or credit union in the U.S. PenFed, for example, seems reasonably friendly to Americans living overseas since so many of their members serve in the military overseas.


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