Maxing out pre-tax retirement accounts
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Anonymous
| Assuming we can afford it, is there ever a reason not to? Our financial planner suggested that we should start putting more into our post-tax savings and less into retirement accounts. I have always thought you should max retirement first? I can post more details on amounts we are putting into each type of account if that is needed to answer the question. |
Anonymous
| You need accessible $ for planned large purchases and emergency funds. Otherwise you max out retirement $. |
Anonymous
| (OP here)- Thank you- I think we have enough for any large purchases, we are in our early-mid 40s and have about $250k accessible. That's why I was surprised that we should be adding to that account, and decreasing the pre-tax monies. |
Anonymous
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If your retirement accounts are in good shape you may run the risk of over funding them. The idea for pretax retirement accounts is that you postone paying the tax to a time when your income tax load will be less. If the projection is that your income tax rate will be around the same as it is currently (or higher), then it makes sense to pay the tax now and keep the money more accessible to you or your heirs. Do you or your DH have an expected pension?
I would look to prepaying the house as that is not taken into consideration as much as non-retirement investments when college aid calculations are done. It also depends on your tolerance for risk. |
Anonymous
| Or he wants you to put more into accounts he gets a commission on... |
Anonymous
This. I'd switch advisors. |
Anonymous
Agreed. |
Anonymous
This was my first thought too. The fact that they even have an advisor means they should have plenty in the non-tax benefited accounts anyway... suggesting to put more there in LEIU of 401ks is almost fraud. My financial advisor actually suggested the opposite - take money out of my non-tax benefitted accounts and move it TO a tax advantaged account, thereby reducing his base. Now *thats* a financial advisor working for you. |
Anonymous
OP here- this is my biggest concern. |
Anonymous
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You need to drop this "advisor" who is trying to sell you commissioned products. Read up at this website: www.bogleheads.org
Lots of great info there on how to set an asset allocation, lower fees on your investments and stay the course. Take advantage of pre-tax retirement investments-- to the max if you can, then do Roth IRA as a great way to save outside of tax-advantaged space. |