Annuity/Pension considered earned income for Traditional IRA purposes??

You misunderstand. The phaseouts of deductibility are based on Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI). See IRS Publication 590.

The taxable portion of your pension is part of MAGI, but it is not earned income.

-- Phil Marti Clarksburg, MD

Earned income is wages reported on W-2 or self employment business income. An annuity is not in this category, and cannot be used to qualify as earned income for contributions to an IRA. But your question is a little muddled. If you have earned income, plus an annuity (govt pension) -- in other words, if you're a double-dipper -- then your modified AGI might be too high to qualify. If your employer has a Retirement Plan, the limit for full deductbility is $45,000 (partial up to $55,000) [MFJ: $65,000/partial to $75,000]. And, if your employer does not offer a Retirement Plan, there's no limit [with a partal limit only if you're filing MFJ and your spouse has a Retirement Plan, starting at $150,000]. This is a very simplified outine, with full details available in Pub 590. Bill

Earned income is that you have paid social security tax on that year. That includes W2 and Schedule C income, but not B, D, & E. I have a fair amount of deferred income in retirement pay, but paid the the SS tax in the year I put it in the account, not the year I took it out.