Roth 401k and Roth 457 Plans

457 retirement

By now, many people are familiar with the basic concepts of a 401k retirement savings plan. But did you know there are different kinds of 401k plans? Do you know what a 457 plan is, or what its variation, the Roth 457 plan is? If you already have a good understanding of regular 401k plans, or traditional 401k plans, then it’s pretty easy to see the difference. If not, don’t worry, we’ll walk you through it step by step. Standard Features 401k and 457 Plans The regular parts of a 401k plan are relatively well known. An employer must start and run the 401k plan. Contributions made to the 401k plan are traditionally made with pre-tax dollars. That means that you pay no taxes on the amounts you contribute to a 401k plan. Also, no capital gains taxes or taxes on dividends are due while the money grows inside of the 401k savings plan. In exchange, you cannot withdraw money from a 401k plan prior to age 59 1/2 except in very specific circumstances without penalty. In addition, you will have to pay taxes on the money as you withdraw it from the account. And, finally, once you turn 70 1/2 …

Read More

How To Use Roth 457 Plans

roth 457 retirement plan

When it comes to retirement planning, 457 plans are kind of the neglected younger sibling of the better known 401k plans. Both are employer sponsored retirement plans, meaning your employer has to set them up for you, unlike an IRA or Roth IRA which are individual retirement plans. However, a 457 plan is a special retirement savings plan in that it is only allowed for certain organizations, specifically governmental employers and non-profit employers. The non-profit 457 plans are known as non-governmental 457 plans and are less flexible. For governmental 457 plans, the main advantage is that unlike 401k plans, there is no 10 percent penalty for withdrawing money from a 457 plan prior to age 59 1/2 like there is for a 401k savings plan. However, withdrawals from a 457 plan are taxable, just like withdrawals from a 401k plan are taxable. Which brings us to the Roth 457 savings plan. Roth 457 Retirement Plan As you can probably guess from the name, a Roth 457 plan has similar tax-advantages to a Roth IRA, or Roth 401k, namely that withdrawals from the account are tax-free, rather than taxable. In exchange, you do not get the up-front tax savings from your …

Read More