Roth IRA for child?

Terry Says

Unfortunately, you can only open a Roth IRA if you have "earned income" -- and I doubt that a 16 year old has that kind of income.  But if he does have a job, and if they are sending him a W-2 form declaring income, then he can contribute up to $5000 (or the maximum amount he earned) to an IRA.  So even if he already spent the money he earned, you could gift the amount to him in the form of a Roth IRA contribution. If he has no income, you could help him buy some shares of stock, for a small amount of money.  Go to www.Stockppile.com to see how easy it is to gift money to a child, and work with him or her to pick out a stock to own and follow.