New To Investing Thread

[raquetcat]

Anyone have any experience with rolling over 401k's when you change jobs? May be changing soon and I was just planning on rolling it all into my roth IRA.

You just contact the company who administers your 401k and tell them you want to roll it over, you fill out some forms and they put it into whatever account you tell them to, pretty easy. But I don't think you can move money from a regular 401k to a Roth IRA, you could just move it to your new 401k, or a regular IRA though

[slobber]

dobber, i'm just guessing at your income and flexibility, but i think you should probably put some or all of your money into a traditional 401k instead of the roth.

yes, agreed here (using my own guesses) (my guess is that dobber makes mad stacks)

mad stacks now = shitload in retirement!

[ben ji]

Anyone have any experience with rolling over 401k's when you change jobs? May be changing soon and I was just planning on rolling it all into my roth IRA.

depends on your tax rate and how much you have in it.  you might need to roll to a trad ira and then convert some each year to the roth.

Anyone have any experience with rolling over 401k's when you change jobs? May be changing soon and I was just planning on rolling it all into my roth IRA.

You just contact the company who administers your 401k and tell them you want to roll it over, you fill out some forms and they put it into whatever account you tell them to, pretty easy. But I don't think you can move money from a regular 401k to a Roth IRA, you could just move it to your new 401k, or a regular IRA though

Gotcha, if it happens I'll look into the different options.

[sys]

But I don't think you can move money from a regular 401k to a Roth IRA.

you can, but it's taxed, obviously.

[slobber]

it really just matters what you make right now, not how you contributed to way back when (mostly)

I have 3 kids and my wife doesn't work. I am not at the top of the tax bracket. I agree that one can make assumptions on those things as to whether or not it seems like the correct thing to do now; however, I think it is a guessing game as to what I will pay on my roth distributions. That is more as to what I was referring to. A lot of unknowns.

Am I wrong in thinking about it from that angle?

[slobber]

But I don't think you can move money from a regular 401k to a Roth IRA.

you can, but it's taxed, obviously.

and I don't think you can use any of that money to pay the taxes.

[ben ji]

But I don't think you can move money from a regular 401k to a Roth IRA.

you can, but it's taxed, obviously.

and I don't think you can use any of that money to pay the taxes.

Woof.

[michigancat]

dobber, i'm just guessing at your income and flexibility, but i think you should probably put some or all of your money into a traditional 401k instead of the roth.

I couldn't convert what was in traditional 401k, and what the company contributes is still traditional. So I have a significant amount that is traditional and everything that I have invested over the past 5 years is Roth. I think it is a good mix. It is hard to know for certain what the taxes will be in the future, so having a mix feels right.

I have considered that maybe I should go back to traditional, since I have the Roth IRA's as well. Maybe that is what my guy wants to talk to me about.  ARE YOU MY GUY? Is your name Joe R.?

if you're paying 25% or more on your top rate  (the more over that, the stronger the case), i think you should put as much as you can into the traditional.  that gives you more flexibility.  you can convert the traditional to a roth (advantageously), you can't go the other way.

do you have to itemize to get the tax advantages of a traditional, or is it like student loan interest? (I do not want to look it up).

[meow meow]

I recently changed jobs so I rolled my old 401k to an IRA, so I have this IRA, my new 401k and mrs meow meow has a 401k.  Thinking about taking this extra money and throwing some of it at this new rollover IRA?  If nothing else for simplicity sake but also don't want to be a dumbass but rereading some of my latest posts that may be too late.

[ben ji]

Question- Can you have a traditional IRA and a roth IRA? I assume yes. If you have both can you still only contribute a total of 5500 combined between the 2?

Thanks, I'll listen off air.

[meow meow]

Question- Can you have a traditional IRA and a roth IRA? I assume yes. If you have both can you still only contribute a total of 5500 combined between the 2?

Thanks, I'll listen off air.

Pretty sure the 5500 is the Roth max

Look at me trying to answer questions, adorbs

[michigancat]

Question- Can you have a traditional IRA and a roth IRA? I assume yes. If you have both can you still only contribute a total of 5500 combined between the 2?

Thanks, I'll listen off air.

Pretty sure the 5500 is the Roth max

Look at me trying to answer questions, adorbs

no, it's 5500 combined. 401k is the workaround if it's available.

http://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/Plan-Participant,-Employee/Retirement-Topics-IRA-Contribution-Limits

[raquetcat]

Question- Can you have a traditional IRA and a roth IRA? I assume yes. If you have both can you still only contribute a total of 5500 combined between the 2?

Thanks, I'll listen off air.

Pretty sure the 5500 is the Roth max

Look at me trying to answer questions, adorbs

no, it's 5500 combined. 401k is the workaround if it's available.

http://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/Plan-Participant,-Employee/Retirement-Topics-IRA-Contribution-Limits

You can have both a regular and Roth IRA, and what Mich said above. Roth 401k s are super boss

[sys]

do you have to itemize to get the tax advantages of a traditional, or is it like student loan interest? (I do not want to look it up).

i was talking about 401ks, not iras.  but if you do a traditional ira, you can deduct it as well as a standard deduction.

[sys]

But I don't think you can move money from a regular 401k to a Roth IRA.

you can, but it's taxed, obviously.

and I don't think you can use any of that money to pay the taxes.

you can.  you shouldn't, if you don't have to, though.

[sys]

it really just matters what you make right now, not how you contributed to way back when (mostly)

I have 3 kids and my wife doesn't work. I am not at the top of the tax bracket. I agree that one can make assumptions on those things as to whether or not it seems like the correct thing to do now; however, I think it is a guessing game as to what I will pay on my roth distributions. That is more as to what I was referring to. A lot of unknowns.

Am I wrong in thinking about it from that angle?

it's not completely a guessing game.  you have a lot of control about when/if you convert, distribute, etc.  you have more options within the traditional.

[sys]

I recently changed jobs so I rolled my old 401k to an IRA, so I have this IRA, my new 401k and mrs meow meow has a 401k.  Thinking about taking this extra money and throwing some of it at this new rollover IRA?  If nothing else for simplicity sake but also don't want to be a dumbass but rereading some of my latest posts that may be too late.

you're either going to have to post your tax rate, or figure it out yourself.  more or less the only reason to choose a traditional v roth ira is because of tax rate. 

[meow meow]

25% I think.  Recap I have money going into a 401k and a Roth 401k, and I have a rollover IRA

[michigancat]

do you have to itemize to get the tax advantages of a traditional, or is it like student loan interest? (I do not want to look it up).

i was talking about 401ks, not iras.  but if you do a traditional ira, you can deduct it as well as a standard deduction.

I ask because I have had some very high-expenses/few-choices with some company 401k's.

[sys]

25% I think.  Recap I have money going into a 401k and a Roth 401k, and I have a rollover IRA

i'd max out your traditional 401k first, assuming you have reasonable investments available to you through that plan.  if you still have money left after that that is taxed at 25%, i'd go with the traditional ira (unless you think you might want to retire before 59, then maybe probably roth ira).  if you can't max out your traditional with 25% money, i'd put however much of that money there is into roths (ira, 401k, both/whatever).

if you still have money left after maxing 401ks & iras then throw it at your hsa if it's not maxed or your kids, whatever.  or eff the kids and invest it as taxable money.

[sys]

I ask because I have had some very high-expenses/few-choices with some company 401k's.

but you also change jobs every 3 years.  rollitover&moveon.

[meow meow]

I didn't think there was a max on 401k?  I thought you could put like 99% of your paycheck in that if you wanted

[Brock Landers]

I didn't think there was a max on 401k?  I thought you could put like 99% of your paycheck in that if you wanted

Sure, if your salary is only $17500.

[sys]

I didn't think there was a max on 401k?  I thought you could put like 99% of your paycheck in that if you wanted

17.5k is the max unless you are over 50.  i think self-employed have some ridiculously high max (not sure), might be able to loophole more with a fake self employment.

[michigancat]

I don't think I'll ever make enough to max out my 401k and live comfortably. Will I die penniless?