The Top 3 Mistakes To Avoid With Your 401(k) Here is what experts say are the costliest stumbles people make with their retirement savings accounts — and how to get back on course.

Pay Less Federal Tax and Contribute the Difference to My 401(k) Hello everyone, Pre-2020, I could increase my allowances and put the difference in a pre-tax account, offsetting my tax liability. Now that the tax laws have changed, how can I mimic the pre-2020 W2 so that I use what would have been federally taxed to contribute more to my 401(k)? If this is possible, would it still offset like the pre-2020 er…

What to do after maxing out 401(k) in my situation I am 53, married filing jointly, MAGI for the two of us approx 200K I am wondering what to do after maxing out my 401(k) contribution – Roth IRA? Traditional IRA? Taxable brokerage? Money would be intended for retirement, I would not plan on withdrawing it for ~10 years+ (FWIW besides my 401(k) I have ~12 months of emergency savings, no debt exc…

Should I max my 401(k)? I’m single, 25M and I just started a new job in the middle of June 2024. I’m finally making six figures and my employer will match 50% of my 401(k) contributions up to the IRS limit (i.e., 11.5k match if I do so). I have $0 in my brokerage but about $30k in my Roth IRA and $5k in personal savings, plus a few thousand between a 529 and an HSA. …

Roth vs 401 k with no match/contributions I’m 26 and have about 30k in a Roth and 10k in a 401k. My net worth of all assets outside of retirement is about 200k. I’ve worked hard and I manage a lot of my own finances. My company does not match my 401k so I mostly max my Roth out every. This year I’ve already saved about 10k but I’m trying to buy a house so imo I’d like to stop contributi…

Roth IRA vs. company 401(k) Hi all, just started a new position and the company offers a 401(k) with no match. I also have a Roth IRA that I’ve been contributing to separately for years. Since I won’t be in a position to max out both 401(k) or Roth IRA, wondering which of these vehicles I should use to park my retirement savings (aiming for $800/mo) in going forward? What …

Do “years of service” need to be consecutive for 401(k) vesting I just left my long time employer, for the second time. I worked there over 5 years and was fully vested. I took a different job that didn’t work out and came back 6 months later. My company let me pick right back up. No training, all my service years counted towards my position and vacation time. However, now that I’ve left again, my vested bal…

Is it wise to have both a Roth 401(k) AND a Roth IRA? I recently started my first job out of college, and have begun contributing to my employer-provided Roth 401(k). I plan to open an IRA account as well, but I’m wondering if it would be redundant to have two Roth retirement savings accounts. I don’t plan on pulling any money out until retirement, but obviously I can’t know what the future holds a…

Unsure of what to do with 401 after leaving. With my current job, I started up a 401k and I’m getting ready to quit soon and start a new job. I e asked my adults and le google about the best choice on what to do with it. I don’t know if I want to pull it and throw it into savings, just let it sit, or go through the maze to transfer it to the new job. Any advice would be helpful. (Curse pub…

How to see/what to ask to see if my company 401 plan supports mega backdoor Roth conversion? I’m nearing my income limit for Roth contributions and will probably start passing it in the coming years. I’m looking to convert after tax contributions from my 401k ( my company allows this thru a period in December) to my Roth IRA. What do I have to look for/what exactly do I have to ask to see if my company supports this? submitted by …

Questions about 401(k) as a contractor on W-9 in California, US. Hello! I am currently a contractor on a W-9 and am maxing out my ROTH IRA but my company does not offer a 401(k). I have heard that I am able to get on my own 401(k) as a solo contractor but have no idea how to start the process in starting my 401(k) alongside my ROTH IRA. Is there a way to start a solo 401(k) and then move that into an employe…

Should I transfer my brokerage to a traditional IRA and contribute to a 401(k) without employer matching? Hello, everyone! Over the last few months, I (27M) have taken the journey of getting my financial life together. For the past two years, I was contributing monthly to a Roth IRA and an individual brokerage account at Northwestern Mutual—awful mistake, and I have since transferred my accounts to Fidelity. My job offers a 401(k), but with no match…

Employer doesn’t offer matches on 401(k) or 457. Which is better? Hello, I’m a 25-year-old with a government job. I currently have an 8-month emergency HYSA and also fully fund my Roth IRA usually around the middle of the year. I’m locked into contributing about $630 monthly for the state pension plan… That money will be vested in about 16 months and I could then technically leave the job and keep all my contr…

401 or 529? I’m poor and have limited money to invest if any at all. I’m 44 yrs old with a 12 year old son. I am poor and very rarely have any money at all to spare. My family has a 529 fund for my child and make regular contributions. I have an OBRA account through work instead of SS because I work in the Public School System. If i only had $100 a year to spare and invest, which would be better investing, my ch…

401 loan and thinking of leaving job I am having trouble understanding what happens to my 401k loan if I leave my job. I had 21k in my 401k and recently took out a loan for $10,500. My 401k currently has about $11,500 in it. What will happen to that $11,500 if I decide to quit my job? Will they take out the $10,500 owed from the remaining $11,500 in my 401k or will they tax the $10…

Should I set up a Solo 401(k)? I’m 31, make ~$250k/yr at my W2 and run a side business that does ~$35k/yr in revenue and $10k in profit however I currently do not pay myself or pull profits from the business. The business is structured as an LLC and has no employees. Every year I max out my W2 employer Roth 401(k), backdoor Roth IRA, and HSA. I also have a brokerage account w…

Employer randomly stopped contributing to 401(k) (California) I noticed when I upped my (post tax) contribution percentage but noticed my paychecks were the same. After some probing with the payroll point of contact at my (small) employer, they said there were “issues with the bank account” and it would be fixed “soon”. I looked and my last contribution was almost 2 months ago. I still am having my contrib…

Roll over 401(k) to new employer 401(k) or IRA? I recently switched jobs and need help deciding what to do with my old 401(k). There’s not much in it – just what my previous employer contributed as I was focused on building up an emergency fund. Now I will be contributing to my new 401(k) with a company match + would like to start an IRA or Roth IRA. Would it be better to roll the original 40…

Question from university student about 401(k) account from former employer Hello, I am a university student and had an internship last summer with a company that signed me up for a 401(k) account. The internship lasted 3 months and ended in September 2023. The account was recently upgraded to be through Empower rather than Prudential. Opening my account today, I saw that my account had my employment status still set a…

Brokerage Account vs 401/IRA? Wanted to get some financial advise from people who are close to retirement or possibly already retired on what makes the most sense for someone like myself in my 30s to invest long term. For some background I have a good chunk of liquid cash in high yield savings to cover any unforseen events, I contribute 20% to my 401k 5% traditional and 15% …