401k Plans Deconstructed

You know that here at The Money Guy Show, we don’t just want you to save toward retirement. We want you to save as much as possible toward retirement and as early as possible! We especially want you to contribute enough to your employer-sponsored retirement plan so that you get that employer-match. Free money!

But how do 401k plans work? And what information should you have handy so that you can maximize your contributions to this effective retirement-savings vehicle? That’s what we talk about in this installment of The Money Guy Show.

Tune in this week to learn about the financial planning opportunities you can take advantage of in your employer-sponsored 401k or 403b plans. If you have ever wanted to look behind the curtain to understand the how and why of retirement plans, this is going to be your type of show!

Here is what we cover in today’s episode:

• A brief history of how we transitioned from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans
• The basic components of the 401k and 403b plan
• Why employers usually offer a match and what kind of matching programs are common (traditional vs. safe harbor)
• How profit sharing works in 401k and 401b plans
• What you should know about the investments in your retirement plan and how to evaluate them
• The
  fees within your retirement plan you want to know and understand
• The investment choices within your retirement plan and whether they are “best in class”
• When you can access your retirement assets
• The
  benefits of high-income Roth IRA eligibility you may have through coordination of your 401k and IRA conversion strategy
• What in-service distributions are and the opportunity they present
• A few rules about retirement account loans and understanding what happens to that loan if you leave your employer
• What
  ERISA Creditor Protection is
• What a Mega Roth Funding strategy is and how you do one

Resources Mentioned in this Episode & Related Episodes

• Guidance on Allocation of After-Tax Amounts to Rollovers https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-14-54.pdf

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