PATRIOT Act + Roth IRA?

June 7, 2007 4:09 PM

What provisions of the PATRIOT Act govern the opening of my Roth IRA?

I recently opened a Roth IRA through T. Rowe Price. In order to meet certain "PATRIOT Act" requirements, I am being required to mail in a W-9 form and photocopies of my Social Security card and drivers license to T. Rowe Price.

What part(s) of the PATRIOT Act require my IRA custodian to have these on file?

posted by comwiz to law & government (4 comments total)

For proof of identity - it's part of the anti-money laundering provisions of section 326.
posted by bemis at 4:29 PM on June 7, 2007

This is to keep evil terrorists and evildoers from opening retirement accounts. Actually, it isn't your IRA, it is you're opening up a new bank account and the PATRIOT Act requires banks confirm the identity of their customers. If you already have a relationship with a bank, it isn't required. If you walked into a brick and mortar bank you'd be asked for the same stuff.

It is in section 326 of the PATRIOT Act. Here's a description of the rule set up between the FDIC and the Treasury Dept.

Google section 326 patriot act and you'll see there's a whole industry around it.
posted by birdherder at 4:30 PM on June 7, 2007

In particular, this is called the "Know Your Customer" provisions of the PATRIOT Act. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelpia publication SRC Insights has a nice, brief, overview of the relevant background and a summary of the requirements.
posted by RichardP at 4:33 PM on June 7, 2007

If you bring your passport to a brick and mortar bank, they skip the other stuff (or at least they did for me).
posted by joannemerriam at 6:03 PM on June 7, 2007