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I am wondering if you might be thinking that settlement on expiration of a cash settled Index Futures contract exposes you to the same obligations as the settlement of a commodities futures contract. There is no deliverable with cash settlement, a truck will not pull up to your house and dump a pile of S&P stocks on your lawn. Your position will be closed at face value just as any intraday trade is settled. While if you allow a long contract on Hog Bellies to expire you are going to be eating bacon for the next ten years.
The nature of your questions suggest you want to hold Index futures contracts long term in your IRA and this will exposed you to overnight margin rates that exist at the time and you will need to anti up more funds to maintain the margin relationship if your position goes South and the unused cash balance in your account is not enough to cover the difference. And margin requirements are likely to change with market volatility. You can of course trade in and out of positions to mitigate risk as opposed to just establishing a bullish/bearish position that you don't touch until you need to roll over to a new contract. But I must underscore what Bob West has pointed to and that is unless you have already demonstrated a long track record of profitability... trading futures contracts with funds you do not want to lose is not a good idea.
There are options on index futures that can give you a longer reach and if you are on the long side, defined risk. There are complex options strategies that can limit risk but you would need to actively manage those positions. But if you are going to do that why not just trade SPX options instead of options on a futures derivative.
If you are thinking of trading within the IRA because of differed tax advantages then you first need to achieve and hold onto profits... and therein lies the rub. Your risk is that one day you will lift your head and realize that you have blown thru most of your retirement account. You need to decide if the imagined potential reward is worth it.
