What is a better investment than a 401k?
Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and investment accounts are options. Fact checked by Jiwon Ma. Established in 1978, the 401(k) plan has become the most popular employer-sponsored retirement plan in the U.S. However, not everyone has access to a 401(k) plan.
Good alternatives include traditional and Roth IRAs and health savings accounts (HSAs). A non-retirement investment account can offer higher earnings but your risk may be higher.
IRAs usually provide a much wider range of investment choices than workplace retirement plans do. If you qualify for both a Roth and a traditional IRA in the same year, you can contribute to both.
The safest place to put your retirement funds is in low-risk investments and savings options with guaranteed growth. Low-risk investments and savings options include fixed annuities, savings accounts, CDs, treasury securities, and money market accounts. Of these, fixed annuities usually provide the best interest rates.
The Bottom Line. In many cases, a Roth IRA can be a better choice than a 401(k) retirement plan, as it offers more investment options and greater tax benefits. It may be especially useful if you think you'll be in a higher tax bracket later on.
If you don't have enough money to max out contributions to both accounts, experts recommend maxing out the Roth 401(k) first to receive the benefit of a full employer match.
They're a great way to save for retirement because they come with special tax advantages and most employers offer a company match on your contributions (which is free money). Generally, there are two types of 401(k) plans out there: traditional and Roth.
One example is the $1,000/month rule. Created by Wes Moss, a Certified Financial Planner, this strategy helps individuals visualize how much savings they should have in retirement. According to Moss, you should plan to have $240,000 saved for every $1,000 of disposable income in retirement.
According to Fidelity, there were 378,000 millionaires with 401(k) accounts in the second quarter of 2023, up 10% from the year-earlier period. (Fidelity also reported nearly 350,000 millionaires with IRA accounts, up 13%.)
The benefits of non-retirement investments
One benefit of non-qualified investments is the amount of control you have over them. With employer-sponsored plans, you may be limited by what investments are available to that plan. Non-retirement accounts, on the other hand, allow you to choose your own investments.
Can I move 401k to CD without paying taxes?
You can rollover your 401(k) account into a CD without any penalties or taxes. But you need to make sure you're rolling over into an IRA CD, specifically. And always ensure to roll over into a like-kind account, whether a traditional or Roth retirement account, or you might get hit with a surprise tax bill.
The easiest way to borrow from your 401(k) without owing any taxes is to roll over the funds into a new retirement account. You may do this when, for instance, you leave a job and are moving funds from your former employer's 401(k) plan into one sponsored by your new employer.
- IRA plans.
- Solo 401(k) plan.
- Traditional pensions.
- Guaranteed income annuities (GIAs)
- The Federal Thrift Savings Plan.
- Cash-balance plans.
- Cash-value life insurance plan.
- Nonqualified deferred compensation plans (NQDC)
No tax deferral now. The list of cons may be short for Roth 401(k)s, but missing tax deferral is a big one. When faced with a choice of paying more tax now or later, most people choose to pay later, hence the low participation rates for Roth 401(k)s.
It can be a surprisingly complicated choice, but many experts prefer the Roth 401(k) because you'll never pay taxes on qualified withdrawals. Contributions are made with pre-tax income, meaning you won't be taxed on that income in the current year.
A work 401(k) is a nice perk to help you increase your retirement savings. If you're also trying to save outside of your employer-sponsored retirement plan, however, you might run into some problems. The good news is that you can contribute to an IRA even if you also contribute to a 401(k) at work.
Consider Your Current and Future Tax Rates
If you think your tax rate will be higher, paying taxes now with Roth contributions makes sense. If your tax rate is likely to be lower in retirement, you can use traditional contributions to defer taxes instead.
A “backdoor” Roth IRA allows high earners to sidestep the Roth IRA's income limits by converting nondeductible traditional IRA contributions to a Roth IRA. That typically requires you to pay income taxes on funds being rolled into the Roth account that have not previously been taxed.
Both traditional and Roth contributions are capped so that higher-paid workers who can afford to defer large amounts of their compensation can't take undue advantage of these tax benefits—at the expense of the U.S. Treasury. Here are the current rules, starting with 401(k) plans.
The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals. Let's take a closer look at each category.
At what age should I stop contributing to my 401k?
The tax-free growth and those extra employer contributions will stall when and if you stop contributing more money to your 401(k). Most experts recommend contributing to your 401(k) for at least as long as you're working.
Most retirement experts recommend you contribute 10% to 15% of your income toward your 401(k) each year. The most you can contribute in 2023 is $22,500 or $30,000 if you are 50 or older (that's an extra $7,500). That number has only been increased by $500 for the 2024 tax year.
With the $1,000 per month rule, if you plan to withdraw 5% of your savings each year, you'll need at least $240,000 in savings. If you aim to take out $2,000 every month at a withdrawal rate of 5%, you'll need to set aside $480,000. For $3,000, you would aim to save $720,000.
Yes, it is possible to retire comfortably on $500k. This amount allows for an annual withdrawal of $20,000 from the age of 60 to 85, covering 25 years. If $20,000 a year, or $1,667 a month, meets your lifestyle needs, then $500k is enough for your retirement.
If you have a generous income from pensions or Social Security, $300k might be plenty. But without significant resources, your spending needs to be relatively low. The amount you'll spend depends on several factors. For example, costs depend on where you live, what health issues you face, your lifestyle, and more.
