Trad vs Roth 401k what should I be considering?

#1

I’m 42 and while I’ve been able to put away money for retirement up till now this was really the first year where I’m able to max out all my tax efficient accounts (Trad 401k, Roth IRA, HSA). Everything invested based off the 3 fund portfolio through Fidelity (yay zero fee mutual funds!)

My company offers both a Trad & Roth 401k. I’ve always been using Trad but now that I’m maxing everything out I’m starting to fine tune and wonder if I should be investing in the Roth 401k instead of the Trad. Currently I’m in the 22% tax bracket and aiming to retire somewhere around age 57 or so.

What should I be considering if I want to change my election to Roth? Future feels so up in the air as far as my annual income at retirement and what tax rates will be. Maybe I am overthinking it all? I just want to make the best tax based decision I can.

Also I do have the option to invest in both Trad & Roth 401k. So maybe split the difference?

#2

I was thinking the same thing for a traditional vs. Roth IRA. Like you said, we don’t know what our future income will be like. I like how with a Roth it grows tax free so you know exactly how much you’ll have in the future. Not sure what’s better math wise but the peace of mind is worth it for me.

#3

Yeah, I’m single with no kids right now but things could always change.

Also, if I based retirement off 25x my current annual spending I don’t think that adequately takes into account how I’ll spend retirement. I hopefully will be doing more traveling, events, learning, etc than i currently do. So like you say, maybe the Roth is the way to go.

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