Mid 30s, high income, no debt besides mortgage. What should I be doing now that Roth IRA is off the table?

Looking for some guidance as I feel like I’m hitting that next phase financially and don’t want to mess it up.

My wife and I are both high earners now and recently got pushed over the income limit for Roth IRA contributions. We have no debt besides our mortgage at 5.25 percent. We’re in a great area near public transit so our expenses are pretty stable.

We share one car that’s fully paid off and barely used. I have a take home vehicle for work.

Income:

Wife makes about 235k

I make about 175k plus around 10k from the reserves

We each put in 2000 a month into a joint account. Total 4000 a month. Mortgage and bills come out to around 3800 so that account grows a bit each month.

We keep the rest of our finances separate.

For me personally:

About 8000 monthly take home after taxes and deductions

2000 goes to joint

Around 3500 goes into savings money market emergency fund and some casual investing in stocks and crypto

I am maxing my TSP and getting the 5 percent match and also contributing to a pension.

We’re meeting with a fiduciary next week but I want to go in informed.

Main questions:

What should I be doing now that Roth IRA is no longer an option?

What investment vehicles should I be looking at next?

Anything specific I should ask or watch out for with the advisor?

For context, I spent my early 20s digging out of debt and finally feel like I’m in a strong spot. Just trying to be smart about what comes next.

Mid 30s, high income, no debt besides mortgage. What should I be doing now that Roth IRA is off the table?
byu/Kobeova_Bryantovich ininvesting

Posted by Kobeova_Bryantovich

maydayvoter11 on March 31, 2026 6:22 pm

I think a good plan would be to first have a large emergency fund, like 1 years’ worth of living expenses, in something very safe, like a HYSA.

Second, look for ways to maximize contributions to retirement plans.

I am a fan of Roth accounts because I’d rather pay tax now on the seed than in retirement on the harvest, especially with RMDs out there.

If you are interested in going mostly Roth, then I would explore whether your TSP contributions and your wife’s 401(k) (I assume her work offers one?) can be made as Roth contributions. I know nothing about TSP. But I do know that in a 401(k) plan, the employee can elect for the employee’s contributions to be Roth, and for the employer contributions to be Roth — IF the plan allows for it. IIRC, she would end up paying income tax on the employer’s Roth contributions.

Next, look and see if her employer’s 401(k) plan allows for voluntary after-tax contributions. That is a way to put more money into the 401(k) above the employee and employer contributions, up to the maximum annual contribution limit.

Then, see if her 401(k) plan allows in-plan conversions so that she could convert those contributions to the Roth account.

I don’t know anything about TSP plans, but you may want to ask the same questions about your TSP plan.

After that, it may be wise to not lock up all your investments inside the IRAs, 401(k), and TSP. I’d consider putting some into investments where your principal value doesn’t fluctuate much but you get regular income in the 6-10% range. Ask your financial advisor about closed-end funds that specialize in income, as well as investments based on REITs.

7 Comments

BillyBobChorton on March 31, 2026 5:49 pm

Roth IRA is never off the table. My W2 was over $500k, still did a back door Roth.

Look it up, very simple. You contribute to traditional IRA, then roll it over to Roth IRA. Vanguard and most other brokerage websites make it easy
maydayvoter11 on March 31, 2026 5:51 pm

Look into the backdoor-Roth strategy: contribute to traditional without deducting the contribution, then convert it into your Roth account.

Are either of you self-employed with no employees (except your spouse)? There’s the Solo 401k option which allows much higher contributions, but I’m not sure if TSP contributions count against the total contributions you can make. Do some research into that.
dobed on March 31, 2026 5:54 pm

Never do a backdoor IRA in the same year you happen to convert a 401k to an IRA btw.

This is something all of the internet gurus fail to mention.
maydayvoter11 on March 31, 2026 6:22 pm

I think a good plan would be to first have a large emergency fund, like 1 years’ worth of living expenses, in something very safe, like a HYSA.

Second, look for ways to maximize contributions to retirement plans.

I am a fan of Roth accounts because I’d rather pay tax now on the seed than in retirement on the harvest, especially with RMDs out there.

If you are interested in going mostly Roth, then I would explore whether your TSP contributions and your wife’s 401(k) (I assume her work offers one?) can be made as Roth contributions. I know nothing about TSP. But I do know that in a 401(k) plan, the employee can elect for the employee’s contributions to be Roth, and for the employer contributions to be Roth — IF the plan allows for it. IIRC, she would end up paying income tax on the employer’s Roth contributions.

Next, look and see if her employer’s 401(k) plan allows for voluntary after-tax contributions. That is a way to put more money into the 401(k) above the employee and employer contributions, up to the maximum annual contribution limit.

Then, see if her 401(k) plan allows in-plan conversions so that she could convert those contributions to the Roth account.

I don’t know anything about TSP plans, but you may want to ask the same questions about your TSP plan.

After that, it may be wise to not lock up all your investments inside the IRAs, 401(k), and TSP. I’d consider putting some into investments where your principal value doesn’t fluctuate much but you get regular income in the 6-10% range. Ask your financial advisor about closed-end funds that specialize in income, as well as investments based on REITs.
MannieOKelly on March 31, 2026 6:43 pm

Have or planning kids? Consider a 529 plan. I have accounts for my grandkids in the Virginia 529 program. Very flexible and if you live in Va you can deduct contribs from your Va (but not Federal) taxes.
Ticksdonthavelymph on March 31, 2026 6:51 pm

Guy I am in same boat, (make about 5k more than you). I fully fund by 403b, fully fund my Ira backdoor, and then drop another 30k into brokerage for a total of about $70k a yr (with employer 403match). That’s enough… All my equities are in almost feeless funds & broken 49% US, 45% international, + 6% commodities & gold. Safe from dollar devaluation, stagflation etc… and that’s enough to about guarantee around $1 million in 10yrs even in a shitty decade, and at least triple by year 20.
Various_Couple_764 on March 31, 2026 9:44 pm

I am also over the income limit to depositing my Roth . So I am moving money from my 401K to my roth. Additionally I am investing for dividned income in my roth so that when I get to age 60 I can use the tax free inocme it generates. Until then the 5k a month of dividend from my Roth are reinvested. So right now the cash inflow into my Rother is higher than it has ever been.

Also if you have access to a 401K or other retirment account through work contribubrokerage te to those account. The last option is to invest in a taxable. With a taxable brokerage you can invests as much as you want and you canvasses the money in the account at any time. You can invest in tax efficient dividend funds and use the inocme to cover you monthly expenses

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