Questions tagged [401k]
A 401(k) account is a tax-deferred retirement savings account setup by many employers for their employees in the United States. Employees can elect to contribute part of their earnings - either pre-tax or after-tax - to their 401k account and the employer will often make a matching contribution for a portion of it. The before-tax and/or after-tax contributions are subject to yearly limits set by the IRS. Related to the 403b and Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
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Is this a viable strategy for avoiding the pro-rata rule for backdoor Roth while maintaining the superior investment options in my non-Roth IRA?
Assume that my 401(k) supports both reverse rollover from IRA and in-service rollover to an IRA. I am doing a backdoor Roth, and want to avoid the pro-rata rule. The general way to do this is to ...
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Contribution from personal checking account to Solo 401k as Single-Member LLC
I have Single-Member LLC (file as a sole proprietor). Should I make contributions (Employee deferrals, Employee after-tax contributions, Employer contributions) to a solo 401k from my business ...
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Consolidating Multiple Solo 401k Plans into One
My spouse and I have separate solo 401k plans (let’s call them Plan A and Plan B), which we opened a few years ago when we undertook self-employed activities. This year, we opened an LLC as QJV and ...
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Converting some Pre-Tax 401k Contributions to Roth Contributions
Is it possible to convert some Pre-Tax 401k contributions to Roth contributions each year? Since I would have to pay taxes on the amount converted I wouldn't be able to do it all at one time.
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401k Contributions Guidance for Two-Member LLC in a Community Property State
We established an LLC at the beginning of this year, with just two members – my spouse and myself. We reside in a community property state and file our taxes jointly as a married couple.
Throughout ...
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Does taking a 401k loan have the same effect as a hedge against a down market?
I have a 401k balance in the low six figures.
I maximize my contributions every year to the IRS max and my employer has a 6% match. This results in about ~$35k of new money going into my account every ...
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Advice on 401k rollover to IRA
Basic question probably. I m looking for advice on rolling over a portion of amount in my 401k to an IRA.
My needs are: a) to eliminate tax on withdrawal from IRA
b) Have flexibility of withdrawal ...
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Roth vs Traditional 401K when paying income tax in two states
I graduated in May and got my first full-time job and would like to being contributing more to retirement. I live in New York State (not NYC) and work in Connecticut so I pay state income tax in both ...
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Tracking down old IRAs / 401(k)s
How does one go about tracking down 401(k)s from previous companies? Is there a more convenient method than trying to get in contact with HR from these past companies? I wouldn't mind paying for a ...
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After 4 yrs, new money shows up in closed 401K account
I separated from a company on 12/30/2015. Feb 2016 I paid $60 distribution fee to rollover the entire 401K balance to an IRA. Fast forward 4 yrs, in March of 2020 I get an email "your statement ...
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How to vet a potential financial advisor to avoid being scammed?
Most of my retirement funds are currently in an account at Fidelity. I was contacted about a year ago by one of the many wealth management services out there, and through a number of telecons and ...
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Considering current market situation is it wise to convert 401K account into IRA
This is what I know about 401k and IRA accounts:
401k accounts are employer-sponsored plans, which means that you can only participate in a 401k plan if your employer offers one. IRAs, on the other ...
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In the US, is post tax 401k different from Roth 401k?
I had a talk with the brokerage firm retirement planning team, and they told me that if I have money in 401k, it can be pre tax, post tax, or Roth 401k, and even post tax and Roth 401k are different.
...
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My employers "401(k) contribution" is cash, not an actual retirement account. What are my options?
I just took a job that I like, and the line in the offer letter turns out to be misleading (I think through inexperience, not manipulation).
This is it:
You will eligible to receive a 401(k) match of ...
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US rollover IRA for non-resident alien
I am not a US citizen, and I am currently not resident in the US. I lived and worked in the US between 2014 and 2016 and I have a 401(k) from that time. The 401(k) plan is being terminated and I am ...
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Do I need to keep/file "Distribution Statement" for Mega Backdoor Roth IRA?
My new employer offers the Mega Backdoor Roth option. After-tax contributions can be automatically & immediately converted to Roth within the 401(k), and can be rolled over to a Roth IRA at any ...
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Quotes for funds in my Fidelity-managed 401(k)?
I've had several employer-provided plans through Fidelity over the years.
Fortunately, they offered extremely low-cost passive investment options, like Vanguard Institutional Index Trust, which tracks ...
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Did I give the right advice to my father about his 401k being down?
My dad has seen recently that I have taken an interest in finance and he asked me what he could do about his 401k being down.
So I said the US is currently in a recession and now you should put in ...
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How to 'recession-proof' a 401k (least risky investments)?
A 401k can have risky and less risky investments.
What are recommended as the least risky investments within a 401k within the USA??
Presently most of the 401k is in conservative funds (PHYZX, MWTIX).
...
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pending recession: keep money in 401k or savings account?
Husband and I are on Social Security.
I have a 401k of about $225K, not a lot.
With the impending recession, probably during Q2 2023, husband wants me to withdraw $$$ (e.g. $8K) from 401k and put it ...
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Does the pro rate rule on taxes for backdoor Roth IRA conversion apply if you have multiple Roth NOT traditional IRAs?
This is a follow up of the question here about rolling over traditional IRAs to 401k.
The pro rata rule looks at the amounts in all your traditional IRAs when you do a backdoor Roth conversion. Does ...
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Can I regularly direct funds to a different retirement account?
I don't like my company's retirement plan sponsor. I feel their array of investment options are quite poor (poor because they don't have many options, their expense fees are high, and they don't offer ...
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What are the reasons to avoid rolling over IRA into 401k plans?
Are there reasons for and against doing this?
For
I can only think of having more options for what securities to buy in IRAs since 401k options are limited.
Against
The only reason to do the IRA ...
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Contribution limit differences between 401k and IRAs
Is there a reason why the contribution limits of these are drastically different with the 401k limits being about three times higher?
Moreover, why is it that the 401k limits go up over the years but ...
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Is there a grace period for getting money back out of your 401k plan?
Is there a "grace period" on getting that money back out? For example, if I put $3000 in in April, and I need that $3000 in May, can get it out before the end of the year, can I just pay the ...
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Is a 401K taxed as regular income when the owner dies?
If an owner takes distributions from a 401K, it is taxed as regular income.
If the owner of the 401K dies (with no beneficiaries) the money is put into the estate of the deceased. Is it still taxed ...
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What should I do with 401K and HSA to avoid cashing out penalty if I leave the US?
I'm a foreigner working in the US. I know if I don't work or reside in the US anymore, I can roll over to my country's accounts or cash out. But cashing out is subjected to a penalty, so of course I ...
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How can unvested assets land in one's Self-Directed Brokerage 401(k) account?
I read in a US-based employer-sponsored 401(k) plan managed by Vanguard the following warning while attempting to change the contribution allocation:
All Sources: Your plan has restrictions on having ...
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How do I control how dividends are reinvested in my 401(k)?
I have a 401(k) through Ascensus. I would like to do tax loss harvesting with an index fund I hold in my taxable account and I want to make sure there is no possible wash sale in my 401(k). Therefore, ...
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Financial efficiency - purchasing a car with cash from retirement withdrawal vs. by financing
When someone in their retirement is purchasing a car, is it financially more efficient for them to take a lump sum of cash out of a deferred-tax retirement account (and pay income tax on it), or is it ...
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Borrow from 401k (and pay interest to myself) or take a loan from bank (and pay interest to the bank) to buy a car?
Should I borrow against my 401k at 6% interest rate (which I pay to myself) or take a loan through a bank at 3.5% interest rate (which is paid to the bank)? Buying a car for my kids and can't afford ...
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Does Highly compensated employee designation for 401k plans consider total income from multiple jobs?
Looking for guidance on following situation:
If someone works for two employers who both offer 401k. Is the HCE qualification based on the compensation from the EMPLOYER for which the employee chooses ...
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401k Matching Rules Regarding Losses when Match is Revoked
My employer matches my 401k but it is on a long vesting schedule and I will almost certainly leave before it finishes vesting. I know I will have to give it back but was wondering how to gains/losses ...
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How do I reverse an excess 401K Contribution?
I contributed around 10K with no employer match. I changed jobs in the mid year, now the I have new 401K with Match. I want to max it out so I can get the match in full. How do I take out the ...
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Is there a penalty for rolling a 401(k) into new employer while the markets are down?
I have a 401(k) account with my old employer which I have not rolled over yet to my new employer. As I am no longer contributing to the old account or employed by them, I am wondering if there any ...
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Can contributing to 401(k) make me eligible for Roth IRA?
In 2022, the Roth IRA contribution limit reduces from $6000 to $0 for as income increases from $129k to $144k (for a single filer). The 401(k) limit is $20,500.
If my salary is $145k (too high for ...
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What are the Italian equivalents of 401K, Roth IRA and Savings account?
I am Italian and I consume a lot of internet content about saving and investing (that's why I am here too!).
I often hear or read about:
401K
Maxing out your 401K (and meeting your employer's match)
...
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Do you get any social security credits if you put 100% of your income in a 401(k)?
Scenario:
Your spouse is the primary earner
You had a 1099 side-job earning $15k
You put all $15k in a solo-401(k) plan
Would you earn any social security credits in this situation?
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Does 401k contribution to index fund pay dividends?
My 401k fund has an option for investment in S&P 500 index fund, however the investment doesn't come with any dividend yield. S&P 500 index funds such as VOO, SPY come with a dividend yield. ...
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Why is the YTD return for my 401k contributions down 20% but the YTD return on S&P500 is 1.5%?
I imagined that my 401k investments must be going to some low-risk-stable-return type of financial investments. However, when I checked the YTD return on my 401k contributions for this year, it was ...
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How to contribute capital from 401k or IRA to a Series LLC?
I am new to this thread and I'm seeking some basic advice or comment for this matter.
Please assume that any investment risks are taken into consideration.
Objective:
I would like to bootstrap an ...
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If I have a Roth 401k, what would making after-tax contributions mean?
(To start, i know the Roth 401k uses after tax dollars, and i know that the IRS allows further “after-tax contributions.” This makes it seem kind of confusing, as it would appear I’m asking about ...
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Tax calculation question from Forbes article
From this article, When To Use Pre-Tax Vs Roth 401(k) Contributions, I'm confused on how the 31% difference was calculated from the given example:
For example, if your household taxable income is $500,...
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Can I roll over my Roth IRA into 401(k), and should I?
I have an Roth IRA through Wealthfront that I opened several years ago. I also have a company 401(k) through Fidelity NetBenefits.
Since the Roth IRA is a personal account (no employer match, no ...
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What is the difference between a 401k rollover vs IRA?
I have a Fidelity account for my older company's 401k plan which will expire soon. They told me if I don't do anything, it will convert into an IRA automatically. Alternatively I can make a rollover ...
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Employer tax benefits of 401k matching vs salary increase
I was trying to understand why a company would offer 401k matching instead of higher salaries to employees.
I read that some states require companies to offer retirement things which makes sense.
One ...
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Can I put my raise into 401k without a change to my paycheck & taxes?
I received a 2.5% raise.
My HR website says :
per paycheck (13%) : (12% before tax + 1% Roth 401k)
and
Getting Full Company Match Yes
If I take home $X/week, change my contribution to 15.5%, will ...
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Identity theft issue: Fidelity showing another person’s profile on my 401k, Fidelity closed the request
My employer provides 401k and I opened a 401k with Fidelity in September. I have been contributing to the 401k since. Recently, I logged into my account and my user profile on Fidelity is showing a ...
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How are 2nd year tax filing for coronavirus related early withdrawal entered?
I need help understanding how/where to enter the 2nd year's worth of the 3 year spread of tax on 2020's coronavirus 401k withdrawal. How do you file the 2nd and 3rd year? The first year I got 2 1099R'...
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My Schwab 401k account has been emptied inexplicably, can I get my money back?
Today, while I was preparing my 2021 tax, I was checking my 401k account and shocked that my account is empty. Somebody sold my ETF holding and transferred out on Sep 01 2021. It's Saturday, nobody ...
Alan Wang