Robinhood's up to 3% IRA match: Here's how it works

Individuals usually don't receive contribution matches through an IRA account; a match is typically something employees receive through their workplace 401(k) account, which leaves out self-employed and gig workers — or those whose employers don't offer 401(k)s in the first place.

Below, CNBC Select reviews the Robinhood IRA* match feature to help you figure out if funding a retirement account through the platform makes sense for you.

With Robinhood Retirement*, you'll receive an extra 1% added to your IRA account on eligible contributions up to the annual contribution limit. However, if you're a Robinhood Gold* subscriber, the IRA match is actually 3%. You must stay subscribed to Gold for one year after your first Gold match to keep the full Gold match. Robinhood* offers both traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs. IRA transfers and rollovers from old 401(k) accounts are also eligible for the 1% match. Note that contributions coming from your Robinhood* brokerage account or spending accounts are not eligible.

According to Robinhood's* website, once you make a contribution, you should be able to instantly see the match in your account.

Note that Robinhood's IRA* match does not count toward your annual IRA contribution limit.

Doing the math on the match and contribution limits, a $7,000 yearly contribution would earn up to a $70 match each year, or $210 with Robinhood Gold*. An $8,000 annual contribution earns up to an $80 match on top of your contributions, or $240 with Robinhood Gold*.

Robinhood* has a somewhat convoluted set of rules about whether you can keep your match when you withdraw money from your IRA. To put it as simply as possible:

• You can keep your match if you've kept eligible contributions in the IRA for at least 5 years
• If you withdraw money from the IRA before 5 years and your remaining balance is the same or higher than your deposit amount that earned the IRA match plus the match amount, the match is yours. Robinhood* may charge an early IRA match removal fee if the remaining balance is lower

To play it safe, try to avoid withdrawing money from your IRA. Instead, turn to an emergency savings account if you need to access cash for an unforeseen circumstance.

Although Robinhood* doesn't charge any management fees on this account, there may be an early IRA removal fee for withdrawing money from your account after fewer than five years (see above for details).

Acorns offers a 3% match for the first year for Acorns Gold members, which is $12 per month. A 1% match is offered for those with the Acorns Silver plan, at $6 per month. You must keep your contributions in the account for at least four years in order to keep your match. The most affordable plan, Acorns Bronze, costs just $3 per month and while you can contribute to an IRA account through this plan, they don't offer a match.

By comparison, the Robinhood Gold* account that offers the 3% costs $5 per month, so you get access to an IRA match at a lower cost with this account.

Webull, another investment platform, offers a 3.5% match on IRA contributions if you sign up for the premium subscription, which is $3.99 per month. The 3.5% match is higher than the match offered by both Robinhood* and Acorns, and the monthly cost is the most affordable for this much of a match. So, if you're prioritizing a lower monthly fee while still getting the best possible match, the Webull account beats out the other two.

Another perk of the Webull account is a 3% IRA match on transfers or rollovers — Robinhood's* is only a 1% match and Acorns doesn't offer a match on transfers or rollovers.

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*(Review Robinhood disclosures here.)