Is Starting in Your 40s Too Late? How an IRA and Covered Calls Changed My Perspective (An EA’s Story) (Updated: Jan 2026)
Living in the U.S. while raising children and keeping life moving forward, retirement often feels like something we’ll deal with “someday.”
We know it matters, but between work, family, and day-to-day survival, it’s easy to push it aside. This article isn’t about selling an investment strategy.
In 2025, my IRA generated about $12,000 in dividends — a number that may seem modest to some, but felt deeply meaningful to me.
More than the money itself, using an IRA as a tax-advantaged tool brought something I didn’t expect: a quiet sense of calm and reassurance.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Total contributions | $14,500 (2022–2024) |
| Covered call purchases | Started mid-2024 |
| New contributions in 2025 | $0 |
| Dividends received in 2025 | ~$12,000 |
| Main focus | Cash flow, not price growth |
| Tax treatment | Tax-deferred inside IRA |
1️⃣ When retirement felt overwhelming
Like many immigrants, I spent years focused on the present:
building a life, raising kids, and staying afloat.
Retirement always felt abstract — important, but distant.
It wasn’t until my 40s, while studying to become an Enrolled Agent, that I truly understood how intentionally the U.S. system encourages retirement saving.
IRAs aren’t just for the wealthy.
They are one of the few safety nets available to people who decide — even late — to start.
2️⃣ $14,500 contributed between 2022–2024
I opened my IRA in 2022. Over three years, I contributed a total of $14,500.
It wasn’t a large amount.
But it represented something meaningful: I hadn’t given up. Even imperfect action felt better than doing nothing.
3️⃣ Why I chose covered calls in mid-2024
Covered calls weren’t my starting point.
I began allocating to covered call positions around mid-2024,
when I began to see the power of consistent dividend cash flow.
The reason was simple. I wasn’t chasing growth.
I wanted predictable cash flow.
Weekly or monthly income mattered more to me than price appreciation.
4️⃣ Choosing a strategy I don’t recommend
I chose a path I don’t necessarily recommend to everyone.
Covered call strategies come with clear risks — principal erosion is real, and recoveries can be slow.
However, for my specific goal, share count and cash flow took priority over daily price fluctuations.
I treated the paper loss as the price of admission for steady income.
Covered call distributions are often taxed as ordinary income in taxable accounts.
Inside an IRA, however, those distributions are tax-deferred until withdrawal.
That allowed me to reinvest without constantly accounting for taxes along the way.
5️⃣ 2025: reinvesting dividends only
In 2025, I added no new money at all.
Every dollar invested came from dividends.
By year-end, total dividends reached roughly $12,000.
Market prices were lower — but the account had effectively absorbed much of the decline.
The dividends acted as a cushion against market volatility.
That realization didn’t feel like success.
It felt like peace of mind.
6️⃣ Why I’m sharing this story
I’m sharing this because “late” is a feeling, not a financial sentence.
Even modest contributions to a tax-advantaged account can replace a frozen state of anxiety with a clear sense of direction.
I may not retire early. But I no longer feel stuck.
Taking one step replaced anxiety with direction. And for me, that mattered.
This article reflects personal experience only and is not investment advice.
Covered call strategies involve risk, including potential principal loss.
Tax discussion is based on U.S. federal law; state rules may differ.
핑백: How to Open a Vanguard Brokerage Account (Updated for 2026)