Schwab IRA Review
Key Points:
• Charles Schwab offers a large suite of Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs).
• Schwab’s website has a variety of IRA calculators.
• A retirement account at Schwab can be set up as a self-directed brokerage or managed account.
Do you want to save for retirement and take advantage of tax benefits? If so, Charles Schwab’s IRA lineup is worth taking a look at.
Overview of IRAs at Schwab
Charles Schwab offers a long list of retirement accounts, each with its own built-in tax benefits, eligibility rules, and contribution limits. The available list of IRAs at Schwab includes:
- Roth
- Traditional
- Rollover
- Inherited (Beneficiary)
- Custodial (Minor)
- SEP
- SIMPLE
Schwab’s SIMPLE IRA is available in both Roth and Traditional formats. The Roth SIMPLE permits post-tax contributions on the employee side only (pre-tax contributions are still required on the employer side).
The Custodial IRA is for children under age 18 who have earned income. It can be opened in Roth or Traditional format. This IRA can also be used to cover some types of educational expenses.
Investment Choices for an IRA
Generally speaking, most investment products available in taxable accounts at Schwab are available in IRAs, too. There are a few exceptions, however. Futures can be traded in certain Schwab IRAs, including Traditional, Rollover, Roth, and SEP IRAs, subject to approval and account requirements. Schwab’s Global Account, which gives U.S.-based customers access to foreign stock exchanges, cannot be set up as an IRA.
Annuities, which are often used for retirement planning, are available at Schwab and can be purchased inside an IRA. Alternative investments, including products such as hedge funds and private equity, are available to eligible Schwab clients who meet qualification requirements.
Bonds and target-date mutual funds are available in Schwab IRAs, too. The Schwab website has a user-friendly bond-ladder tool. Brokered CDs are fair game as well. These products can be found under the Trade tab on the website (look for the links to bonds and CDs).
Brokerage IRAs at Schwab
Schwab offers self-directed brokerage IRAs as well as professionally managed and advisory IRA solutions. With a self-directed IRA, the customer chooses and manages the investments. Schwab’s advisory programs offer professional portfolio management and, depending on the service, access to financial professionals. Schwab clients also have access to the company’s large network of branch locations.
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Managed IRAs at Schwab
Retirement savers who would rather turn over management and investment decisions to professionals can set up
their accounts as investment-advisory accounts. Schwab offers both automated and human-advised investment-management options.
Intelligent Portfolios is Schwab’s automated-investing program. Traditional, Roth, Rollover, Inherited, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs can be opened as Intelligent Portfolios accounts. Opting for this choice limits the investment selection to portfolios of ETFs selected and managed by Schwab’s automated advisory service.
Full-service advisory IRAs have a broader range of investment-management options and access to human financial professionals but come with higher minimums and fees.
IRA Education at Schwab
Schwab offers tons of resources for IRA clients. Under the Accounts & Products tab on the website (before logging in), there is a link to an IRA hub. Here, there is a cornucopia of resources that IRA users will want to check out. There is a list of FAQs at the bottom that helps explain contribution limits and withdrawal policies.
After logging in, the Learn and Products tabs have more retirement resources. Under the Products tab, for example, there is a Financial Planning link. Click on this to get a hub with all sorts of resources on important retirement topics from estate planning to buying a house to building a retirement portfolio.
IRA Calculators at Schwab
On its website, Schwab presents a collection of IRA calculators; they are really helpful for all sorts of issues. During our probing, we found these calculators:
- Roth vs. Traditional IRA Calculator
- Retirement Savings Calculator
- RMD Calculator
- Roth IRA Conversion Calculator
- Inherited IRA RMD Calculator
- Inherited IRA Distribution Rules Calculator
The link to Schwab’s calculator section can be found on the IRA hub mentioned above.
Retirement Help at Schwab
If Schwab’s IRA calculators aren’t enough for you, the investment firm has much more. Under the Products tab already mentioned, Schwab offers the Schwab Plan™. This is an online financial-planning tool available to Schwab clients. Simply input all requested information, and the digital resource will estimate whether you are on track for retirement. Schwab Plan is complimentary for Schwab clients.
Advisory customers at Schwab have access to human financial professionals who can help with long-term investment issues. They can be found at Schwab’s large network of branch offices, which includes more than 300 locations.
Fees and Minimums for IRAs at Schwab
A brokerage IRA at Schwab can be opened with any deposit or no deposit at all. There is no annual maintenance fee and no account minimum for a Schwab IRA, and there is no fee to close one, either. These unbeatable policies are complemented by a very generous commission schedule, which includes no-fee trades on U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs. Some fixed-income securities and mutual funds also have no commissions. Many mutual funds at Schwab have just a $1 minimum investment amount.
An advisory IRA at Schwab will have a minimum account value of some amount. A robo IRA requires $5,000 to get started, while traditional advisory accounts require more. Traditional advisory programs charge management fees, while Schwab Intelligent Portfolios charges no advisory fee.
How to Open a Schwab IRA
On Schwab’s website, look in the upper-right corner for an orange button to open a new account. Scroll down on this page to find a tile for each IRA type available. Click on the tile for the account you’re interested in and follow the on-screen prompts to provide the needed details.
It’s also possible to open an IRA on Schwab’s mobile app. After downloading the app, tap on the hamburger icon (three horizontal lines) in the top left and look for the link to open an account. Scroll down to find the button for Retirement. SEP and SIMPLE IRAs are under the Small Business button.
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Written by Alex Bost
Updated on 8/31/2026.
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