compared to a regular taxable account. Its the difference between tax-free and taxable. And like any IRA, it can be invested in CD's, money market funds, short-term Treasuries, or whatever else you consider safe.
Unfortunately, one has to have earned income (i.e. from employment or self-employment) in order to contribute to an IRA of any kind.
A Roth IRA may or may not be better than a traditional IRA, depends on a number of factors.
One can convert a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA (even if one has no earned income), but one has to do some math and make some assumptions in order to see if that's a good deal or not. One pays taxes on the amount converted in the year of the conversion (so don't convert a lot in any one year!), but from then on, as a Roth, the amount converted is completely tax free, including on withdrawal.
I've been converting small amounts of my traditional IRA almost every year since about 1998. Small amounts, so as not to push myself way up into a higher tax bracket -- higher than what I expect my "retirement" tax bracket to be, in which case its a little dubious. Obviously a lot of projections had to be made.
Edited to add --
This is all very generalized -- leaving out some of the many "terms and conditions" and restrictions and yada involved. One has to check anything like this (contributing to an IRA, converting to a Roth IRA etc.) out with at least a competent tax person, better a competent financial advisor, better yet both.
Edited to add --
Both kinds of IRAs have penalties for early withdrawal. The Roth IRA has a "5 year rule" -- a 10% penalty for withdrawals within 5 years or before age 59.5, or something like that -- anyway something to check up on if one is thinking of an IRA of either kind.
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