If I start a Roth IRA in a couple weeks, and keep contributing $7k per year to it, for years & decades, When will it pay off? When can it be money for me to spend?
And does it multiply while it's invested in the Roth IRA?
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Overview is here https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/roth-iras , but generally 59 and 1/2 is when you can start taking distributions without penalty.
59.5 years old. Got it.
Money in an IRA doesn't automatically "multiply" as you say. You'd need to invest your contributions into something, like a stock or mutual fund
You can take the principle out without penalty. Profits need to wait until 59 1/2 to be penalty free.
https://www.your-roth-ira.com/withdrawing-roth-ira-principal.html
As a note, you can't "borrow" from a roth. So if you withdraw principle, you're limited by the max contribution rate in building up the principle again.
So while it's penalty free, there are limitations to keep in mind.