Age and Income Limits Still Apply. Relying on the spouse's earned income satisfies only the earned income requirement for a nonworking spouse to contribute to an IRA. To contribute to a traditional IRA, the nonworking spouse must be under 70 1/2 years old as of the end of the year in which the contribution is made.To contribute to a Roth IRA, the joint income of the couple must be under the annual limits, published each year in IRS Publication 590.owever, the working spouse's earned income cannot be counted twice. For example, if a working spouse has $9,000 of earned income and contributes $5,000 to her IRA, the nonworking spouse could contribute only $4,000 to his IRA.