IRA, IRA Roth? What should I do?

[magpie]

I know that I need to save more for retirement. Basically, I have skipped from job to job, paid my way through grad school and not managed to save much thus far. My H has a very stable job and we contribute aggressively to his state pension plan. My employer does not do any kind of employer match until I have been there for 2 full years. I get that in August, but even then, they only match 2% of my meager salary (H is the big breadwinner, by a lot).

Our retirement savings as of this moment consist of:
H's pension plan, which offers a payout (if he leaves early) or a fixed payment option (if he stays a while) of about 60% of his highest salary for the remainder of both our lives.
$20k in an IRA (his)
$7k in a an IRA (mine...I know, pathetic, I know!)

We have a good size emergency fund, owe nothing on the car, have no student loans or credit card debt. We just refinanced to a 15 year mortgage at a low interest rate. We don't have children, but we hope to soon. Anyway, I'm wondering if I should open a traditional IRA or an IRA Roth and dump in the max for 2012. Is that still possible at this time of year? Which would you recommend? I will definitely be opening an IRA with my employer matching in August, when I am eligible (the 2% match ain't much, but it's something!). I know that we need to start being more aggressive about retirement savings. I am 32, H is 37 (and he plans to work forever--his job is his passion). We have extra money at the end of every month, but we're both so debt averse that we usually just pour it into the mortgage. Now that we have a fixed 15 year loan, that seems like the wrong strategy. So I have some extra money and I want to put it into some form of retirement savings (for 2012 if possible)--what should I do?

[rubytue]

To answer the one question - yes, you can contribute to a 2012 IRA now, and any time up until April 15th.

[Deleted]

Yrs, open a Roth (provided you qualify) and fund 2012 then use some of your excess and fund 2013 monthly.

[magpie]

thanks! I do qualify for a Roth and I am going to open one for 2012.

I'll talk to work about the 403b plan (I think that's what they have--you're right, I was confused!). Thanks again!