A Tax-Savvy Way to Bolster Your Retirement

It can be difficult to stow away as much as you'd like for your golden years through qualified retirement plans.

Contributions to individual retirement accounts are currently capped at $4,000 a year. For employer-sponsored plans such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s or 457s, the maximum is $15,000 for people under the age of 50. (People over 50 can contribute an additional $1,000 a year.) For many nearing retirement, particularly those who weren't able to save a lot early on, this just isn't enough.

Eaton Vance is stepping into the void with a new Web-based product called a supplemental retirement account, or SRA -- a taxable account that can be used alongside qualified retirement plans to scale up retirement savings with minimal tax consequences.

When you open an SRA -- it requires an initial minimum investment of $20,000 and monthly contributions of at least $500 -- you're given a choice of five preset portfolios made up of tax-managed stock funds and tax-exempt municipal income mutual funds. You also have the option of creating a customized portfolio by mixing and matching funds. There is $30 one-time set-up fee and a $30 annual maintenance fee in addition to the management fees associated with the underlying mutual funds.

There are eight tax-managed equity funds to choose from, 33 long-term municipal bond funds, eight limited-term municipal bond funds and a tax-free cash reserve fund, all of which are managed by Eaton Vance.

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