Went from $77k to about $300k and now about 25 years away from retirement. It's invested pretty aggressively. I feel like I should have rolled it to a Roth IRA for the tax free growth, but wasn't sure how the math would work out on the taxes/fees paid during the roll over vs leaving them and letting them grow to hopefully be able to collect when I'm in a lower tax bracket during retirement. Any input on what the best move would be now? Thanks for your time
Left job and haven't touched 401k for 10 years
byu/tosheilaglynis inpersonalfinance
Posted by tosheilaglynis
3 Comments
Honestly leaving it invested wasn’t some terrible mistake… going from 77k to 300k proves the growth worked. Main question now is future tax strategy, not past decisions. A rollover could still make sense depending on current income and retirement expectations.
If its a traditional 401k then you will owe income tax on everything that goes into a roth. So dont do that.
You can roll it into a traditional IRA and invest it as you like. You only owe taxes if you change the tax treatment. You may owe fees depending on custodian rules. And if you go trad IRA you will still get to choose when you want to draw from it depending on your income in retirement, until required minimum distributions.
It’s not too late. You could contact fidelity or your company the money is at currently to see how to roll it over to a back door Roth . Or any new contributions to a Roth.