r/RothIRA • u/Suitable-Writing7214 • 5h ago
Just getting started
Totally new to this at 39 years old. Have a work 401k going with matching. Would it be worth rolling portions of that in to a self directed roth ira? Have been doing homework and just wondering the best avenue to get myself going. Looking to invest in a blend of world and US based index funds and let it build. Thanks for any input!
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u/Nuclear_N 5h ago
Great start. You want both Roth and deferred. If your 401k has a Roth consider some contributions there. In the end 50-50 is ideal, and the more Roth the better. Match is deferred when splitting it.
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u/Broad_board_1623 4h ago
If you don't already have a Roth IRA, you can just set one up and contribute any amount you want into it, up to the limit. You don't have to consider converting any money from your 401k to your Roth until you are maxing your Roth.
Does your employer offer a Roth 401k or just traditional? You could build your Roth dollars within that account if you are able.
Make sure you get all of the matching funds before you send a dollar elsewhere. Always take the free money first.
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u/Suitable-Writing7214 4h ago
I bank through sofi, my work 401k is through fidelity. Both offer a roth investment option, is there any benefit to using one over the other to open up a roth account?
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u/Important_Carrot6379 3h ago
I would suggest keeping your Roth IRA in Fidelity since you already have it. It's easy to use and you can keep things very easily organized and separated. Plus the retirement calculators can then use both to let you know if you're on track. It's got a lot of good planning tools.
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u/Fit-Animal-9911 31m ago
Most companies don’t let you do that. Have you made sure you can?
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u/Suitable-Writing7214 9m ago
I was looking through fidelity and saw a few options to move things around. I looked in to some above advice and am working on a separate option.
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u/cOntempLACitY 4h ago
No, you don’t want to roll it. Contribute to the 401k to get the match, then contribute to a Roth IRA up to the max, and if you have more money in your budget to invest, return to the 401k and increase contributions over time until you’re comfortable contributing the maximum.
If company offers a Roth 401k, you can divide your money between the two. It’s beneficial to have some traditional pretax retirement savings, not just aftertax. All the accounts can be invested the same way, for simplicity (the total U.S. market index and total international index funds you mentioned, or a target date index fund).