My husband has a pension at work but is in the drop program so he no longer contributes. Can he contribute the maximum into an IRA?

[GretchenG]

Roth IRA

• You can make contributions to a Roth IRA as long as you have taxable compensation. If you file married filing jointly, only one spouse needs to have taxable compensation. 
• There are no age limits for establishing and contributing to a Roth IRA. 
• There are limits on the amount of modified adjusted gross income that you can have and still make contributions to a Roth IRA. Please note that if you file married filing separately, the limit for your modified adjusted gross income is very low compared to filing married filing jointly. Please refer to page 40 of pub 590A under the heading, "can you contribute to a Roth IRA" for additional clarification. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590a.pdf
• You dont get to take a deduction on your Roth IRA contributions because qualified distributions are tax free. However, you can still claim a retirement savings contributions credit for these contributions if you meet the requirements.

Traditional IRAs

• You can make contributions to a Traditional IRA as long as you have taxable compensation. If you file married filing jointly, only one spouse needs to have taxable compensation. 
• You can establish and contribute to a Traditional IRA as long as you were NOT age 70 1/2 by the end of the year. 
• There are NO modified adjusted gross income limit restrictions for making Traditional IRA contributions.
•  Whether or not you can take a deduction for your Traditional IRA contributions, depends on whether or not you or your spouse are covered by an employer sponsored retirement plan. If one or both of you are covered by an employer sponsored retirement plan, then your deduction might be reduced or eliminated based on your modified adjusted gross income and your filing status. Please refer to Table 1-2 and Table 1-3  on page 13 of Pub 590A to see if your deduction will be limited. If you are collecting social security, do not refer to these tables. Instead, see page 12 of Pub 590A under "social security recipients" for more information. 
• You can also claim a retirement savings contributions credit for these contributions if you meet the requirements. 

See page 47-48 of Pub 590A under the heading, "Retirement Savings Contributions Credit" to learn more about this credit.