Age

• The investor must be under the age of 70 1/2 by the end of the year, in order to be eligible to establish and invest in a traditional IRA.
  
  

Earned Income

• The individual must have an income in the form of a salary, wages, commissions, alimony or any other income earned from providing personal services.
  
  

Spouses

• An investor can set up and contribute to a traditional IRA for a spouse who has little or no income.
  
  

Individual

• Only individuals can establish this type of retirement account -- hence the name "individual retirement account." For example, spouses cannot open a joint traditional IRA; each spouse will have to set up an individual account.
  
  

No Income Limits

• Unlike many other retirement plans, there are no maximum income-eligibility requirements to set up a traditional IRA.