Welcome to The Statement, Lifehacker’s new weekly personal finance newsletter. I’m Alicia Adamczyk, Lifehacker’s money writer, and every Wednesday I’ll cover the most pressing money issues of the week and answer reader questions about any aspect of your financial lives.
This week, I’m all about shifting perspectives. I wrote about creating an intimidation list, partaking in a “depth” year and the benefits of full-time workers calculating their hourly wages, all of which involve rethinking certain actions and habits.
Shifting perspective might not seem money-related at first glance, but I think there are important financial implications. Calculating an hourly wage is the most obvious—it helps you think in terms of time and energy when spending your money, as opposed to strictly if you can “afford” something or not based on the money you currently have in your bank account.
The intimidation list and depth year, though, are a bit more involved. They require you to take stock of your life and what you want out of it, and why you’re not going after certain things. Is there a job you’re interested in but don’t feel qualified for? Is there a hobby you have that you’ve given up on? Why is that? And what would it take to change your mind?
My depth year involves reading a lot of books I’ve put on hold and working on the skills I already possess, rather than fretting over all of the things I don’t. And my intimidation list, well, it involves making a few moves I’m not positive I’m ready for, but am going to try anyway.
Reader Question: Should I invest in a 401(k) or Roth 401(k)?
Ari asks:
If you have a choice at work of 401(k) or Roth 401(k), how to choose? Is it based on your overall salary? Overall household income?
As with a Roth IRA, the main considerations for a Roth 401(k) are your income and age. Roths are more valuable for people in lower income brackets (likely at the beginning of your career), because you invest after-tax money, which then grows tax-free. With a traditional 401(k), you’re contributing money before you pay taxes on it, so you have to pay up when you take disbursements in retirement.
If you pick a Roth, then, you’re essentially “locking in” your current tax rate, because you’re assuming it will be lower than your retirement rate. That means when you make a withdrawal down the line, you won’t pay taxes on the money, whereas with a traditional 401(k), you will.
Both tax schemes are beneficial in different ways. If you’re young, though, a Roth is probably a better option. “If you’re in a lower tax bracket, choose the Roth,” says Howard Pressman, a Virginia-based Certified Financial Planner. “A current day tax deduction isn’t that valuable to you, so why not enjoy the tax-free growth.”
And as we’ve covered before, tax rates are currently among the lowest they’ve ever been (and likely will be), meaning it makes more sense to pay today’s tax rate than gamble with a higher one—making a Roth a better option. The trade off is that you won’t get a tax break now.
You need to diversify
That said, another consideration is how much of your savings is currently in tax-deferred accounts like traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) and 401(k)s. If you’re over 50, you’d do well to diversify before retirement so that you have the flexibility to withdraw from both taxable and tax-free pools of savings.
Regardless of your choice, any employer contributions will be made pre-tax, says Samuel Boyd, a Washington D.C.-based Certified Financial Planner. “So, in the event that you can’t make an educated projection of your tax implications now versus those is the future, making the Roth 401(k) contribution and receiving a traditional 401(k) match will, at the very least, result in tax diversification,” says Boyd.
That’s one way to attain some diversification. Another would be to direct your catch-up contributions (workers over 50 can contribute an additional $6,000 into a traditional or Roth 401(k) this year) to after-tax accounts, suggests Marguerita M. Cheng, a Maryland-based CFP. “Clients need tax diversification.”
Keep in mind, too, that too much in tax-deferred retirement accounts causes large Required Minimum Distributions when you turn 70½, which in turn raises your tax bracket in retirement, when you can least afford it.
Roth assets, on the other hand, aren’t subject to RMDs. “The nice thing about the Roth 401(k) is that you can contribute nearly three to four times more than you can to a Roth IRA, so it’a great option for accumulating that type of savings and will reduce the amount of mandated income at age 70½,” says Wes Brown, a Tennessee-based CFP. While Roth IRAs have a contribution limit of $6,000 this year, you can contribute up to $19,000 to a Roth 401(k) (and $7,000 and $25,000, respectively, if you’re over 50).
Both types of accounts have a place in a robust retirement plan. If you’re young or already have a large pool of tax-deferred savings, then go with the Roth.
This Week in Review
Here are some other stories from the past week you might enjoy:
The best advice I’ve heard about asking your boss for more money: Embracing the awkwardness will pay off.
Travel rewards are the best use of your credit card points: Or at least, where you’ll get the most “value.”
Check your credit report even if your credit is frozen: Scammers can still access open lines of credit when your reports are frozen.
Can you over-diversify your assets: Not really, but you need to consider if it’s worth it.
How to get compensated for cancelled European flights: It’s easy!
How to deal with work stress: Just answer the damn email.
No statistic will help you beat the market: Take it easy.
When “now” isn’t the best time to invest: When you don’t have the basics taken care of.
Cover the PIN pad while using a drive-up ATM: Don’t get scammed!
That’s it for this week. If you have a question of topic you’d like me to cover, email me at [email protected]. And check out more articles on Two Cents.
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