What's Better 401(k) or Roth IRA? by:Rocco Beatrice

Share:    

One of the most frequently asked questions planners get about retirement planning is what's better for retirement planning: a 401(k) or a Roth IRA

. The answer may not be as straightforward as it might seem.

WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS?

401(K)

Under section 401(k) of the IRS code, a 401(k) is an employer-sponsored deferred contribution plan for retirement. In your workplace, you set up a 401(k) plan with human resources and choose options within the defined plan. Your employer takes money out of your paycheck prior to income taxes being taken out and deposits this into your 401(k) plan. Some employers even match your contributions. When you retire, you can decide to withdraw money out of the 401(k), but those withdrawals are subject to income tax when they are taken out 10,20, 30 years later. Currently, there are no income limitations on who can contribute, but an individual can contribute at most $15,500 to their 401(k) in 2008. $46,000 is the maximum aggregate amount that can be contributed between employer and employee in 2008.

ROTH IRA

Senator William Roth was the chief sponsor of this movement. A Roth IRA is an individual retirement account independent from your employer that you create directly with a custodian firm. After a Roth IRA account is set up, these plans have a much wider investment selection typically, and then directly deposit after-tax money from your checking account into the Roth IRA. Then, after you turn 59 1/2 years old and have had the plan for at least five years, you can withdraw from the account entirely tax free. In 2009, the maximum you can contribute is $5,000 a year (unless you're over 50). There is one big qualification: if you make more than $99,000 individually or $156,000 as a married couple, you cannot contribute the full amount (and may not be able to contribute at all).

401(K) OR ROTH IRA: THE LARGEST DIFFERENCES (PROS & CONS)

The largest differences between the two plans are workplace contributions, investment options/management, and taxes. Let's walk through each feature.

1) Workplace contributions - Employers with a 401(k) retirement plan may or may not match contributions made by an employee. For example, a 401(k) program may offer a 50% match for every dollar the employee contributes to a 401(k) up to 4% of the salary. Therefore, if the employee contributes 4% of their salary to their 401(k), the employer also puts in an extra 2% of your salary, effectively increasing your contribution by 50%. In short, employers that offer matching contributions to your 401(k) should be revered. This typically trumps any other consideration regarding the decision to contribute to a 401(k). It's free money, like a year-end bonus that comes every 2 weeks - don't turn it down.

2) Investment options - With a 401(k), you're forced into whatever management and investment options are offered to you by the plan your employer offers which usually mean the investment choices are restrictive and expensive. Things to watch out for in these investment plans are mutual fund expense ratios and investment options. A Roth IRA is extremely flexible and allows one to choose investment options - you even pick the custodian you want to use. Roth IRAs offer an advantage with regards to flexibility of investment choices, though if your 401(k) offers solid options, this may not be a great advantage but most don't.

3) Taxes - This is really the tough one out of the three because it involves a level of prediction of what the future holds for you. If you think your income tax rate will be higher at the time of withdrawal than it is currently, a Roth IRA is the better choice and will save you in the long run.

How can someone expect to know future tax rates? Here are a few things to consider:

Will my income grow significantly between now and retirement? If you believe it will, you'll likely be in a higher tax bracket at that time, which favors the Roth. If you feel that you are near your peak, you'll probably be in the same bracket or lower, which could favor the 401(k).

Do I expect to be working in my retirement years? If you believe that you will, you have a high chance of being in the same tax bracket or higher than you are now. If the answer is no, likely your income will be lower.

Will the political landscape shift towards higher tax rates? It is easy to speculate that with the expected budget deficits, tax rates will go up, and that favors the Roth IRA. If you believe they will decline, that would favor the 401(k).

401(K) OR ROTH IRA: SO WHAT SHOULD I DO?

If your employer offers 401(k) matching, always max it out. This is free money.

The question really revolves around what to do with additional retirement money. Given all the above factors, and also assuming you're young and have many years of income growth ahead of you, a great option is a Roth IRA.

Finally, there are other tax-free retirement options to consider such as Roth IRA on Roids for slightly more sophisticated investors. It has all the benefits of a Roth IRA with no restrictions and guaranteed principal.

Whichever you decide to pursue, by simply putting money away, you're ahead of the game. Don't let the deliberation keep you from saving - if all else fails, start making contributions immediately to one or the other now and then finalize decisions later - you can always change your mind in the future.

About the author

Best IRA Rescue provides services on your IRA investments and traditional IRA and will help you reduce your inherited and beneficiary independent retirement account taxes in your estate assets. Roth on ROIDS is your advanced Roth IRA retirement planning strategy and one of the best IRA tax-savings strategies with benefits of a guaranteed death benefit, guaranteed principal, tax-free growth, and tax-free distributions from policy loans.

Contact us if you have any questions on your IRA retirement planning. http://bestirarescue.com. Original article: http://roth-ira.bestirarescue.com/whats-better-401k-or-roth-ira.html

Boston, MA: 71 Commercial Street #150 Boston, MA 02109

California: 543 Victoria Ste. J, Costa Mesa, CA 92627

toll-free: 888-93ULTRA (888-938-5872)

tel: (508) 429-0011

fax: (508) 429-3034

POST COMMENT

The Art Of Real Estate Investing Is About People by:Sharon Samraj We Are Still In Tough Economic Times by:Sheila Berg Using Credit Reports in the Hiring Decision by:Shelley Phelps Top 5 Resume Lies by:Shelley Phelps Preventing Workplace Violence by:Shelley Phelps How to Pick a Strategic Partner for Business Success by:Sherese Duncan Up to 50% off on Report - Booming UAE Telecom Sector by:Shushmul Maheshwari Middle East Civil Aerospace Industry Growing Despite Recession by:Shushmul Maheshwari How Attraction Marketing Blueprint Generates Income by:Steve Greer A Positive Outlook for Real Estate by:Steve Teta A Real Estate Formula by:Steve Teta The 5 Step Process of Buying a Real Estate Deal by:Steve Teta Top 3 Ways to Improve Your Work/Life Balance while Growing Your Business by:Victor Mataraso