401ks and Roth IRAs both allow you to save up money for your retirement. They both are just a little different. With a 401k all of the money that you start investing can be written off on your taxes and you can postpone your taxes on that money as well as the interest that you make off of it until you withdraw it from the plan. Roth IRAs do not let you write off the money that you invest, but it does give you a tax break on whatever you take out.
Each plan comes with it’s own advantages and disadvantages. There are a number of reasons why investing your money into both plans is the best choice. Here are just a few.
1. Invest More
There is a limit to how much money you can invest into each plan. If you invest into both plans you will be able to invest even more money then if you just invested money into 1 plan.
2. Diversify Investments
Everyone has heard about the benefits of diversification when it comes to our investments. Well when you start investing into both a 401k and Roth IRA you can get some diversification. Since your 401k can mainly be used to invest into stocks and mutual funds and your IRA can be used to invest into nearly anything, you can diversify across different assets by investing into both.
By investing into both plans you can invest your 401k money into stocks and your IRA money into something else like tax liens or real estate. That way you diversify a little bit more and get some more safety.
3. Diversify Your Taxes
If you follow the Roth IRA withdraw rules you will be able to withdraw your money without having to pay taxes on the interest that you made with it. And no matter where you get your 401k information from you will find that you get a tax break on all money you invest into the plan.
This way you will be able to diversify when you pay your taxes and by doing so hopefully pay less taxes. It’s simple really, if you split up the amount you are making between 2 different years your tax bracket should be lower and therefore you should pay less taxes in total.
This may not work if you are already in the top tax bracket, but if not you might want to consider it.