I participate in my employer's retirement plan ...not allowed to open a roth ira

While you may not be able to open a Roth ira, you may be able to open  a Traditonal ira.  Check with your bank and see what they might have to offer.

Houston, TX - (Retirement, Financial & Wealth Accumulation Planning) - Http://www.fitzfp-llc.com, or to get your free retirement calculator 2.0 - RetirementplanningTX 
Can an individual contribute to a traditional IRA if he or she has other retirement plans?
Yes, individuals can contribute to a traditional IRA whether or not they are covered by another retirement plan. However, they may not be able to deduct all of their contributions if they or their spouses are covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan. [Note that contributions to a Roth IRA are not deductible and income limits apply.] See Publication 590 for further information.Topic 309 - Roth IRA Contributions

A Roth IRA is an account or annuity set up in the United States solely for the benefit of you or your beneficiaries. It is an individual retirement plan. However, it differs from traditional IRAs in that contributions are not deductible. For information on contributions and the limitations please refer to Chapter 2 of the Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements.  General Limit

For 2007, the most that can be contributed to your traditional IRA generally is the smaller of the following amounts:

• 
  $4,000 ($5,000 if you are age 50 or older), or
• 
  Your taxable compensation (defined earlier) for the year.

This general limit may be increased to $7,000 if you participated in a 401(k) plan maintained by an employer who went into bankruptcy in an earlier year. For more information, see Catch-up contributions in certain employer bankruptcies later.

You can make a contribution to your IRA by having your income tax refund (or a portion of your refund), if any, paid directly to your traditional IRA, Roth IRA, or SEP IRA. For details see the instructions for your income tax return or Form 8888, Direct Deposit of Refund to More Than One Account.

Contributions can be made to your traditional IRA for each year that you receive compensation and have not reached age 70½. For any year in which you do not work, contributions cannot be made to your IRA unless you receive alimony, nontaxable combat pay or file a joint return with a spouse who has compensation. See Who Can Set Up a Traditional IRA, earlier. Even if contributions cannot be made for the current year, the amounts contributed for years in which you did qualify can remain in your IRA. Contributions can resume for any years that you qualify.

Contributions must be made by due date.   Contributions can be made to your traditional IRA for a year at any time during the year or by the due date for filing your return for that year, not including extensions. For most people, this means that contributions for 2007 must be made by April 15, 2008, and contributions for 2008 must be made by April 15, 2009.

Covered by an employer retirement plan.   If you or your spouse was covered by an employer retirement plan at any time during the year for which contributions were made, your deduction may be further limited. This is discussed later under Limit if Covered by Employer Plan. Limits on the amount you can deduct do not affect the amount that can be contributed.
 



Are You Covered by an Employer Plan?
The Form W-2 you receive from your employer has a box used to indicate whether you were covered for the year. The “Retirement Plan” box should be checked if you were covered.
 Defined contribution plan.   Generally, you are covered by a defined contribution plan for a tax year if amounts are contributed or allocated to your account for the plan year that ends with or within that tax year. However, also see Situations in Which You Are Not Covered, later.
 
  A defined contribution plan is a plan that provides for a separate account for each person covered by the plan. In a defined contribution plan, the amount to be contributed to each participant's account is spelled out in the plan. The level of benefits actually provided to a participant depends on the total amount contributed to that participant's account and any earnings and losses on those contributions. Types of defined contribution plans include profit-sharing plans, stock bonus plans, and money purchase pension plans.
 


Limit if Covered by Employer Plan
As discussed earlier, the deduction you can take for contributions made to your traditional IRA depends on whether you or your spouse was covered for any part of the year by an employer retirement plan. Your deduction is also affected by how much income you had and by your filing status. Your deduction may also be affected by social security benefits you received.
Reduced or no deduction.   If either you or your spouse was covered by an employer retirement plan, you may be entitled to only a partial (reduced) deduction or no deduction at all, depending on your income and your filing status.
   Your deduction begins to decrease (phase out) when your income rises above a certain amount and is eliminated altogether when it reaches a higher amount. These amounts vary depending on your filing status.
Do I report my nondeductible Roth IRA contributions on Form 8606?
There are no forms to report a Roth contribution. The financial institution, which is the trustee of your Roth IRA, will send you information on the amount in your Roth IRA. They will also send the information to the Internal Revenue Service. Use Form 8606 (PDF), Nondeductible IRAs, if you made a nondeductible contribution to a traditional IRA; converted from a traditional IRA, a SEP, or Simple IRA to a Roth IRA, received a distribution from a traditional IRA, a SEP, or a Simple IRA and made nondeductible contributions to a traditional IRA, or received a distribution from a Roth or traditional IRA.