Cortburg Speaks Retirement

Choosing the Right Retirement Contributions

• Miguel Gonzalez, MBA, AIF®, CPFA®, CRC® • Season 2024 • Episode 207

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Miguel Gonzalez, CRC breaks down the differences between pre-tax, Roth, and non-Roth after-tax contributions for employer-sponsored retirement plans. Learn how to choose the best option based on your financial goals and tax situation.

About Cortburg Retirement Advisors, Inc.
Cortburg Retirement Advisors is a full-service, boutique financial planning firm dedicated to guiding clients through both turbulent and calm economies. Our mission is to help you grow, protect, and preserve your assets from your first job through retirement. With comprehensive in-house capabilities, our experienced team assists with all financial needs, including wealth management, estate and tax planning, group retirement, employee benefits, insurance, and retirement planning.

About Miguel Gonzalez, MBA, AIF®, CPFA®, PPC®, CRC®
Miguel Gonzalez is a Retirement Specialist with over 20 years of experience in retirement income planning, investment management, and retirement plan design.

Former Financial Advisor at JP Morgan Chase Bank, Merrill Lynch, and ING Financial Advisors.
Consultant for Barbara Corcoran Inc. and the World Bank.
MBA from Columbia Business School.
Life and Health insurance licenses, Series 7 and 66 registrations held through LPL Financial.
Fluent in English, Spanish, and Russian.
Certifications: Certified Retirement Counselor®, Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor®, Accredited Investment Fiduciary®, Professional Plan Consultant®.

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Welcome to Cortburg Speaks Retirement Podcast
with Miguel Gonzalez, MBA, AIF®, CPFA®, CRC®

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Welcome to Cortburg Speaks Retirement

An audio podcast about investing in the stock market, financial planning, money management and retirement planning.  Each Wednesday, we help investors at all stages of life learn how to potentially grow and preserve their money from first job through retirement.

Now here is your host, Miguel Gonzalez.

 HOST

Good morning and welcome to the CORTBURG SPEAKS RETIREMENT audio podcast.   

If your employer-sponsored 401(k) or 403(b) plan offers pre-tax, Roth, and/or non-Roth after-tax contributions, which should you choose? How do you know which one might be appropriate for your needs? Start by understanding the features of each.

Pre-tax: For those who want lower taxes now

With pre-tax contributions, the money is deducted from your paycheck before taxes, which helps reduce your taxable income and the amount of taxes you pay now. Consider the following example, which is hypothetical - 

Frank earns $2,000 every two weeks before taxes. If he contributes nothing to his retirement plan on a pre-tax basis, the amount of his pay that will be subject to income taxes will be the full $2,000. 

If he was in the 22% federal tax bracket, he would pay $440 in federal income taxes, reducing his take-home pay to $1,560. 

On the other hand, if he contributes 10% of his income to the plan on a pre-tax basis — or $200 — he would reduce the amount of his taxable pay to $1,800. 

That would reduce the amount of taxes to $396. After accounting for both federal taxes and his plan contribution, Frank's take-home pay would be $1,404. 

The bottom line? Frank would be able to invest $200 toward his future by reducing his take-home pay by just $156. That's the benefit of pre-tax contributions.

In addition, any earnings made on pre-tax contributions grow on a tax-deferred basis. That means you don't have to pay taxes on any gains each year as you would in a taxable investment account. However, those tax benefits won't go on forever. Any money withdrawn from a tax-deferred account is subject to ordinary income taxes, and if the withdrawal takes place prior to age 59½ (or in some cases, age 55), you may be subject to a 10% penalty on the total amount of the distribution, unless an exception applies.

Roth: For those who prefer tax-free income later

On the other hand, contributing to a Roth account offers different benefits. Roth contributions are considered "after-tax," so you won't reduce the amount of current income subject to taxes. But qualified distributions down the road will be tax-free.

A qualified Roth distribution is one that occurs:

·     After a five-year holding period and

·     Upon death, disability, or reaching age 59½

Distributions of Roth contributions are always tax-free because they were made on an after-tax basis. And distributions of earnings on those contributions are tax-free as long as they're qualified. Nonqualified distributions of earnings are subject to regular income taxes and a possible 10% penalty tax. If, at some point, you need to take a nonqualified withdrawal from a Roth account — due to an unexpected emergency, for example — only the pro-rata portion of the total amount representing earnings will be taxable.

In order to meet an unexpected emergency financial need of $8,000, Holly decides to take a nonqualified hardship withdrawal from her Roth account. 

Of the $20,000 total value of the account, $18,400 represents after-tax Roth contributions and $1,600 is attributed to investment earnings. 

Because earnings represent 8% of the total account value ($1,600 ÷ $20,000 = 0.08), this same percent of Holly's $8,000 distribution — or $640 ($8,000 x 0.08) — will be considered earnings subject to both income taxes and a 10% potential penalty tax.

Keep in mind that tapping your account before retirement defeats its purpose. If you need money in a pinch, try to exhaust all other possibilities before taking a distribution. Always bear in mind that the most important benefit of a Roth account is the opportunity to build a nest egg of tax-free income for retirement. Finally, not all plans allow in-service withdrawals.

After-tax: For those who are able to exceed the limits

Finally, some 401(k) and 403(b) plans allow you to make additional, non-Roth after-tax contributions. This plan feature helps those who want to make contributions exceeding the annual total limit on pre-tax and Roth accounts (in 2024, the limit is $23,000; $30,500 for those age 50 or older — up from $22,500 and $30.000, respectively, in 2023).1 As with a traditional pre-tax account, earnings on after-tax contributions grow on a tax-deferred basis.

If this option is offered (check your plan documents), keep in mind that total employee and employer contributions cannot exceed $69,000, or $76,500 for those age 50 or older (2024 limits).

Another benefit of making after-tax contributions is that when you leave your job or retire, they can be rolled over tax-free to a Roth IRA, which also allows for potential tax-free growth from that point forward. Some higher-income individuals may welcome this potential benefit if their income affects their ability to directly fund a Roth IRA. [In addition to rolling the proceeds to a Roth IRA, you may also (1) leave the assets in the original plan (if allowed), (2) transfer assets to a new employer's plan (if allowed), or (3) withdraw the funds.]2

Which to choose?

Determining which types of plan contributions to make is a strategic decision based on your household's needs and tax situation. Because non-Roth after-tax contributions are generally most appropriate only to those who wish to exceed the contribution limits on pre-tax and/or Roth accounts, it may be best to focus on maxing out those accounts first.

If your plan offers both pre-tax and Roth contributions (check your plan documents), the general rule is to consider whether you will benefit more from the tax break today than you would in retirement. Specifically, if you think you'll be in a higher tax bracket in retirement, Roth contributions may be more beneficial in the long run.

Also, regardless of whether you choose pre-tax or Roth contributions, be sure to strive for contributing at least enough to receive any employer match that may be offered. Matching contributions represent money that your employer offers to help you pursue your savings goal. If you don't contribute enough to take advantage of the full amount of the match, you are essentially turning down free money.3

Once the annual contribution limit has been reached for pre-tax and/or Roth contributions, it may be time to consider non-Roth after-tax contributions if your plan permits them.

Make sure to visit our website, www.CortburgRetirement.com. Our site is filled with educational videos, eBooks, publications, and financial calculators designed to help you learn more about your finances.  As you search our site, send us a note regarding any questions you may have about any particular investment concepts or products. We will get back to you quickly with a thoughtful answer.

This is Miguel Gonzalez, Certified Retirement Counselor (CRC) and Managing Partner, with Cortburg Retirement Advisors signing off for this week’s educational podcast.  

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Miguel Gonzalez, MBA, AIF®, CPFA®, PPC®, CRC®

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