I asked this precise question of TOS - what was allowed in an IRA/401(k), etc. - a little while ago. Answer reproduced below: Would you ever sell a put without doing a vertical? If not, you should be OK.
Update: That was a rough ride down. I did not see a bottom of 133. All my shorts are gone and I have 500 deltas in GLD, with room for a few calendars/condors. Not too bad for a account size of $14k. Let's see if this thing works. Considering the deep hole, I may do some hedging at the top. My account went down about 10% of my account size. Whew! That is stupid. Perhaps I should liquidate some of my positions at the "top", or get a couple weekly puts.
I was just going to add to this thread. Buying far out deep 'in the money' calls and selling the front month 'out of the money' calls is the cheapest way to go as an 'alternative' to a 'covered call' position. And covered calls has the same risk as selling puts. I do and have sold puts at times because it is the cheapest way to own a stock but I would like to see the put expire worthless ofcourse.