Is An IRA A Qualified Retirement Plan? 
An IRA , or Individual Retirement Account , is a retirement plan , but it is not considered a qualified plan . IRAs are discussed in Section 408 of the IRC . Qualified plans are set up by businesses , while some types of IRAs -LRB- traditional or Roth -RRB- are established by individuals . There are some types of IRAs , -LRB- SEPs and SIMPLE IRAs , for example -RRB- , that must be established by an employer . 