Aside from 401K and Roth, what other funds should I be looking at

It's not really a retirement fund but if you have access to an HSA and you're not contributing the yearly max, I would do so; it rolls over every year and depending on who the HSA is through has the ability to invest in some pretty good Funds. Every little bit can help especially if we all believe future healthcare is not going to get substantially cheaper.

For retirement (aka tax advantaged), you have the choice of (depending on employer):

Traditional 401k - deducted from your paycheck BEFORE calculating federal and state taxes. Compared to Roth 401k, you bring home a larger paycheck now with the thought when you are retired you'll be in a lower tax bracket.

Roth 401k - deducted from your paycheck AFTER calculating federal and state taxes. Compared to traditional 401k, you bring home a smaller paycheck now, but you won't have to pay taxes on it when you retire.

Traditional IRA - Capped at $5500 unless you're over age 50.

Roth IRA - income limits on this one. Also, capped at $5500 unless you're over age 50. Advantage is you don't have to pay taxes when you retire.

I'm hoping SS exists when I retire, and I'm hoping that I retire before I can begin collecting SS. Therefore, I have a mix of traditional and ROTH 401K as well as IRA.

I've always maxed out my 401k before contributing to an IRA. I keep my rainy day fund in an Internet bank w/ check writing so it pays about 1% interest.

My rainy day fund has been funded for many years so I also have aftertax investments.

My IRA, ROTH IRA, and aftertax investments are all at Vanguard.

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

Are you self employed?

quote:

Originally posted by Lord Vaalic:
Aside from 401K and Roth, what other funds should I be looking at

A SEP-IRA is one of the best deals going for the self-employed .

quote:

Traditional IRA - Capped at $5500 unless you're over age 50.

and when you say that, I think it means the yearly contributions, right?

quote:

Originally posted by ChicagoSigMan:
A SEP-IRA is one of the best deals going for the self-employed .

Why is that? I've heard a little bit about them, but don't know much.

ScorpionBoy - Yes, that is an annual contribution amount.

quote:

Originally posted by ScorpionBoy:

quote:

Traditional IRA - Capped at $5500 unless you're over age 50.

and when you say that, I think it means the yearly contributions, right?

Yes, yearly contributions have a maximum (aka cap)

LV, not sure what you mean by "what other funds"?

Just a couple of thoughts about approaching retirement would be:

Being debt free and staying that way for the most part.

Another thing would be looking at selling asset's that at that point you are wiling to turn into cash or income producing investments.

quote:

Originally posted by argolfer:

quote:

Originally posted by ChicagoSigMan:
A SEP-IRA is one of the best deals going for the self-employed .

Why is that? I've heard a little bit about them, but don't know much.

ScorpionBoy - Yes, that is an annual contribution amount.

Mostly because you can contribute up to 25% of your net, and that you have a lot of options for investments (if is it a self-directed SEP-IRA).

I have a question about this if anyone knows. Can my self-directed SEP-IRA lend my company money at, say, a 25% interest rate? Seems like this would be a pretty decent investment, and also a deductable business expense.

I have an inherited IRA that's now in a 10yr annuity with about 8yrs left before I can withdraw it without penalty. I wish I had invested it in something with a better potential for earning, but I have plenty of time even 8yrs from now.

I also have a 410k, Roth 401K, and HSA through my work and put as much as I can into them, about 11% for now.

Both my parents died relatively young, 69 and 73. I have many of the same health issues they did, so I plan on starting to draw from SS as soon as I can if it's still around in 20yrs... I want as much money back as I can get from that Ponzi scheme the bastards in government thrust on us.

Just to clarify/expand on what tatertodd posted:

Traditional IRA - Mandatory withdrawals required at 70-1/2, and everything will be taxed (what you put in and the earnings). Heirs will also be taxed on withdrawals.

Roth IRA - You never have to withdraw, and if you do, nothing is taxed. Heirs will have to withdraw, but nothing is taxed.

quote:

Originally posted by Lord Vaalic:
Aside from 401K and Roth, what other funds should I be looking at

Sir, by the question, it is clear you need a lot more info about planning for retirement.

"401(k") is not a "fund" it's a type of tax sheltered account through an employer, which usually invests in some type of mutual funds. "Roth" is a term that refers to a specific type of various tax sheltered accounts. There are Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), Roth 401(k) plans, Roth Thrift Savings Plans (TSP), etc. They are different from the "traditional" versions of those types of accounts, in extremely important ways, and you need to learn those differences.

I would suggest seeing if your local library has copies of "Personal Finances for Dummies," and "Investing for Dummies." Both books will help you understand the basics of these topics, so you can make informed choices, and avoid scams.

That is not meant as joke, but is serious advice, and the same I give to friends and family who asking about these topics. I always tell them to read those books, and then we can have a good discussion about it.

I guess I phrased it wrong. I get what a 401k is, and a Roth, and how they work. I have both through my employer. My question is what other investments should I be looking at besides an employer 401k and Roth? Looking for something to put money in on my own outside of the work investments.

If you are thus maxed out on your other tax-advantaged vehicles, most people would start looking at annuities. By this I mean a deferred annuity, i.e. no taxation until you actually start withdrawals. It would be a non-qualified annuity since it will be funded by after-tax money (vs. payroll contributions or tax-deductible contributions). Currently fixed-rate annuities are paying diddley, so we're talking variable annuity, simply meaning the internal investment choices are mutual funds (inside a VA they are called subaccounts instead of MFs).

I would personally look for a good, low-cost, no-load VA through one of the big discounters like Schwab or Fidelity, or good fund company like Vanguard.

quote:

Originally posted by Lord Vaalic:
I guess I phrased it wrong. I get what a 401k is, and a Roth, and how they work. I have both through my employer.

So you have both a "Roth 401(k)" and a "traditional 401(k), or is that "Roth" in some other type of employer sponsored retirement plan?

What kind of investments are being held in those accounts?

Do you have an IRA account or accounts? Are they "Roth IRAs", "traditional IRAs," or a combination of both? What type of investments are being held in those accounts?

What's your time frame to retirement?

What's your risk tolerance?

Do you want/need to invest funds beyond the caps on employer sponsored retirement plans, and IRAs?

Do you have investment goals, in addition to retirement, that might require you to withdraw funds before age 59.5?