Should I move money from a 401(k) to a Roth IRA?
An audience member planning for retirement wants to know if her money is better off in a Roth IRA or a 401(k) account.
Suze says, "If your 401(k) matches your contribution, I want you to contribute up to the point of the match then stop contributing after that, because if you qualify for a Roth IRA, in my opinion, you're far better off having a Roth IRA
and a 401(k)."
Though they're both intended for retirement, Suze says it's a good idea to have both a Roth IRA and a 401(k). "As you get older and you're going to want to diversify," she says, "I'm going to want you to buy individual bonds, which you can do in your Roth account, [and] which you cannot do in a 401(k)."
When you have money in an old employer's 401(k), is it better to roll that money over to your new employer's plan? Actually, Suze says it's better to put that money into a traditional IRA, and then convert that from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.
Current rules make this conversion difficult. No matter if you're married or single, those with adjusted gross incomes over $100,000 cannot convert money from a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. But in 2010 those rules will change. "Starting in the year 2010, no matter what your income, you can convert to a Roth IRA," Suze says.
Next »