Retirement Saving Strategies in the US

When I first relocated to the US with my job 3 years ago, I remember being provided with a 47-page new hire benefits book during the orientation, and was immediately overwhelmed by all the new information I had to digest within a short period of time. The benefits book included information about all different types of insurance plans, savings plans, and a bunch of other benefits. It was also filled with jargon like High Deductible, HSA, FSA, 401(k), Short-term disability, etc. 

​​In Malaysia, retirement savings are done through Employee Provident Fund (EPF), a government-managed retirement savings scheme. The EPF requires mandatory monthly contributions by both the employee (11%) and employer (12% or 13%) directly through automatic salary deduction. I was a total stranger to the 401(k) retirement savings plan, and I have to make my own contribution investment elections?? My oh my... I admit, I wasn't very worldly in this aspect. All the different medical, dental, and vision plans were also new to me as I was used to going to panel clinics (for free), and getting reimbursed by my company for any dental or vision expenses up to a certain amount.

Now that I've finally figured all these out (thanks to hubby and Mad Fientist), it really isn't all that complicated. Well, I take that back. I'm still discovering new information as I work through this post. The length of this post implies the complicated-ness. Looking back, it was indeed overwhelming having to make all my enrollments and elections within a month. Heck I was also dealing with getting social security, setting up bank account, taking driving tests, etc. during my first month here!

	Contributions	Earnings	Withdrawals/Distributions (> age 59 ½)
Pre-tax 401(k)	Before-tax	Tax-deferred	Contributions: Taxable @ income tax rate Earnings: Taxable @ income tax rate
Roth 401(k)	After-tax	Tax-free	Contributions: Tax-free (anytime) ​Earnings: Tax-free
Post-tax 401(k)	After-tax	Tax-deferred	Contributions: Tax-free (anytime) Earnings: Taxable @ income tax rate
Employer Match	Before-tax	Tax-deferred	Contributions: Taxable @ income tax rate Earnings: Taxable @ income tax rate
Traditional IRA	Before-tax	Tax-deferred	Contributions: Taxable @ income tax rate Earnings: Taxable @ income tax rate
Roth IRA	After-tax	Tax-free	Contributions: Tax-free (anytime) ​Earnings: Tax-free
HSA	Before-tax	Tax-free	Contributions & Earnings: Tax-free for qualified medical expenses (no age limit)
Taxable ​	After-tax	Taxable	Taxable @ long-term capital gains rate (​LT capital gains and Qualified Dividends)

Summary of each retirement savings account (assuming withdrawal after 59 ½​)

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​For the purpose of this post, I'll focus on the various types of savings/investment vehicles we use:

401(k) Contributions
There are 3 different types of 401(k) contribution, and we had/have all 3 types:

1. Pre-tax/Traditional 401(k)

• The amount of contributions deducted from your paycheck will be excluded from your W2 wages when you file your taxes (i.e. not subject to federal & state taxes).
• The maximum contribution you can make in 2018 is $18,500. Whatever amount of employer match you receive does NOT affect this limit.
• Your contributions will grow tax deferred (i.e. both contributions and earnings will be taxed in the future upon withdrawal).
• You'll pay taxes at ordinary income tax rate when you withdraw it upon retirement.
• There is a 10% early withdrawal penalty if you make withdrawals before age 59 ½.
• When you leave your job, you can either (i) roll your Pre-tax 401(k) into a Traditional IRA, (ii) rollover to your new employer's 401(k) plan, or (iii) keep it with your previous employer (there may be some maintenance fee). 
• Our strategy - We both have access to Pre-tax 401(k) through our work, and will max out both our contributions. We'd rather cut our tax bill now when we are at a higher tax bracket, and pay (or avoid) the taxes in the future when we are at a lower tax bracket. There are also other strategies (e.g. Roth Conversion Ladder) we can use to access these funds earlier if necessary.

​2. Roth 401(k)

• The amount of contributions deducted from your paycheck is after-tax (i.e. you will pay both federal and state tax now on this amount).
• The maximum contribution you can make in 2018 is $18,500. Whatever amount of employer match you receive does NOT affect this limit.
• Your contributions will grow tax free (i.e. both contributions and earnings are not subject to tax upon withdrawal).
• You pay no tax and penalty on both contributions and earnings when you withdraw upon retirement (subject to the 5 year rule AND if you are over 59½).
• 10% early withdrawal penalty and taxes may apply on your earnings (not contributions) if you make withdrawals from your Roth 401(k) before age 59 ½. ​
• When you leave your job, you can either (i) roll your Roth 401(k) into a Roth IRA, (ii) rollover to your new employer's Roth 401(k) plan (if available), or (iii) keep it with your previous employer (there may be some maintenance fee). 
• IMO, the best option is to do a direct rollover into Roth IRA as it allows you to withdraw your contributions any time, tax and penalty free (not prorated between contributions and earnings). Note that the earnings will still be subject to 10% penalty if withdrawn before age 59 ½.
• Our strategy - Hubby used to have access to Roth 401(k) through his previous employer and was contributing to it up until he switched job. The original plan was to keep it with his previous employer, but he had to do a direct rollover to a Roth IRA last year due to some restrictions with my work. Now that everything has been rolled over, we no longer have any Roth 401(k) account. He's had a Roth IRA account open since 2011, so all the contributions (not earnings) rolled into Roth IRA can be withdrawn penalty & tax free! Just for reference, the direct rollover was split into two parts, with zero tax impact:

              (i) All his contributions and the related earnings were rolled into a Roth IRA
              (ii) All employer match and the related earnings were rolled into a Traditional IRA

​3. Post-tax/After tax 401(k)

• This is the least-known type of contribution that only few employers offer. 
• Similar to Roth 401(k), the amount of contributions deducted from your paycheck is after-tax (i.e. you will pay both federal and state tax now on this amount)
• The maximum amount of contribution you can make to this account depends on the amount you contribute to Pre-tax/Roth 401(k) and the amount of employer match your receive. The total 401(k) contribution limit for 2018 is $55,000. Assuming your employer match is $5,500 and you max out your Pre-tax/Roth 401(k) of $18,500, your contribution limit for Post-tax 401(k) is $31,000. [$50,000 - $18,500 - $5,500 = $31,000]. 
• Your contributions will grow tax deferred (i.e. only earnings will be taxed in the future upon withdrawal)
• You pay no tax and penalty on your contributions (not earnings) when you withdraw upon retirement at age 59½. All earnings will be taxable at ordinary income tax rate.
• There is a 10% early withdrawal penalty and taxes on your earnings (not contributions) if you make withdrawals from your Post-tax 401(k) before age 59 ½. 
• When you leave your job, you can roll your Post-tax contributions into a Roth IRA, and the earnings can be rolled into a Traditional IRA.
• If you're interested to dive deeper, Mad Fientist has a good post on this -> Mega Backdoor Roth
• Our strategy - My company offers the Post-tax option, and we will take advantage of this option to make additional contributions after maxing out both our Pre-tax 401(k) and Roth IRAs. Unfortunately, my company doesn't allow in-service withdrawals, so we only get the 'Semi-Mega Backdoor Roth'. =P We do plan to use the rollover options as soon as we can do so.​

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Our various 401(k) accounts during 2017

Note:

• This was what our 401(k) allocation looked like before the Roth 401(k) was fully rolled over to Roth IRA.
• All earnings for Post-tax and Employer Match are included within Pre-tax
• We will only contribute to Pre-tax and Post-tax  in 2018. 

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Individual Retirement Account (IRA) Contributions
​There are 2 types of IRA contribution, Traditional IRA and Roth IRA.

1. Traditional IRA

• Similar to Pre-tax 401(k), you don't need to pay taxes now for your Traditional IRA contribution. Traditional IRA allows you to claim the amount you contribute as a tax deduction (up to deduction limit) when you file your taxes. You'll claim this deduction is on line item 32 - IRA Deduction of the Form 1040 (for 2017).
• The annual contribution limit in 2018 is $5,500.
• You'll pay taxes at ordinary income tax rate when you withdraw it upon retirement.
• There is a 10% early withdrawal penalty if you make withdrawals before age 59 ½.
• However, the big catch is that there is a deduction limit depending on your filing status and your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI).
• Our strategy - Unfortunately, our MAGI is over the deduction limit. Therefore, we wouldn't get any benefit contributing to a Traditional IRA. However, we do currently have a Traditional IRA for hubby's employer match that was rolled over from his Roth 401(k).

2. Roth IRA

• Similar to Roth and Post-tax 401(k), the amount you contribute to Roth IRA is after tax. You don't claim any deduction on your Roth IRA contribution.
• The annual contribution limit in 2018 is $5,500.
• There is a contribution limit depending on your filing status and MAGI. However, there is a 'Backdoor Roth' option if your income exceeds the contribution limit.
• Your contributions will grow tax free (i.e. both contributions and earnings are not subject to tax upon withdrawal).
• You can withdraw contributions made to your Roth IRA anytime, tax and penalty free.
• 10% early withdrawal penalty and taxes may apply if you withdraw any earnings before age 59½. 
• Our strategy - Our MAGI is below the contribution limit so we don't need the Backdoor Roth option. We both have Roth IRAs and will max out both our contributions. We can technically withdraw our contributions into Roth IRA anytime, tax and penalty free. Even though hubby's account has been opened more than 5 years, we won't touch any earnings before age 59 ½ to avoid the 10% penalty.

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Our savings/investment allocation (by account type)

Note:

• All our savings/ investments are sitting in tax-advantaged accounts as of 12/31/17
• The significant blue  "IRA" portion is attributable to hubby's Roth 401(k) rollover.
• HSA amount is insignificant as 2018 will be the first year I will max it out.​

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​HSA Contributions

• Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax-efficient savings account available for people who are enrolled in a High-Deductible health insurance plan.
• The amount of HSA contributions deducted from your paycheck will be excluded from your W2 wages (i.e. not subject to federal, state, social security and Medicare taxes).
• The maximum contribution you can make in 2018 is $3,450 for individuals and $6,900 for family. This amount includes any portion contributed by your employer.
• You will also have the option to invest your savings through your HSA account. 
• ​The withdrawal from HSA account is tax-free and penalty-free as long as you use it for qualified medical expenses.​ 
• Withdrawals for NON-qualified medical expenses after 65 would be penalty-free, but would still be taxable.
• Sharing another post from Mad Fientist for more 'advanced' level details on HSA account.
• Our strategy - Hubby's employer pays for his health insurance so he doesn't have a HSA account. On the other hand, I'm on a High Deductible Plan with my work and have an HSA account. My employer also contributes $700 per year to my HSA. I will start maxing out my HSA contribution this year for tax purposes.

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Our savings/investment allocations 

Note:

• Tax-deferred includes all contributions and/or earnings that at taxable upon withdrawal.
• Tax-free (restrictions apply) includes all Roth earnings that may be subject to early withdrawal penalty.
• Tax-fee (withdrawable) includes all Post-tax and Roth contributions that are tax and penalty free. 

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Taxable Accounts

• Taxable accounts are most commonly referred as brokerage accounts, which allows you to invest your after-tax money.
• There is no limit as to how much you can put into this account, as long as you don't starve/deprive yourself and make your life miserable. :P
• Unlike the tax-advantaged accounts listed above, the earnings (i.e. interest, dividends, and capital gains) from your taxable accounts will be taxable every year when you file your taxes. Hence, the term 'taxable' account.
• Unlike the tax-advantaged accounts where the earnings are typically taxed at ordinary income tax rate, long-term capital gains and qualified dividends are eligible for a lower tax rate than other ordinary income.
• Ignoring the term 'taxable', there could be tax advantageous strategies such as tax-loss harvesting, and tax-gain harvesting, which could result in some tax savings.
• The biggest appeal to taxable accounts is the flexibility to withdraw anytime you want without penalty, especially for early retirees.
• Our strategy - We currently do not have any taxable investment yet, but as soon as we max out all tax-advantaged buckets, we will start socking away additional 'savings' into taxable accounts. 

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That's all the savings/investments vehicles we currently have (and plan to have) in the US. Based on the current tax rules (who knows when it will change again), these are the rollover options and potential withdrawal strategies we can use in the future.

Value	Rollover Options	Potential Strategies
Pre-tax 401(k)	Traditional IRA	Roth Conversion Ladder or SEPP 72(t)
Roth 401(k)	Roth IRA (Done)	Contributions: None needed Earnings: Withdraw after age 59 ½
Post-tax 401(k)	Contributions: Roth IRA Earnings: Traditional IRA	Contributions: None needed Earnings: ​Roth Conversion Ladder
Employer Match	Traditional IRA	Roth Conversion Ladder or SEPP 72(t)
Traditional IRA	N/A	Roth Conversion Ladder or SEPP 72(t)
Roth IRA	N/A	Contributions: None needed Earnings: Withdraw after age 59 ½
HSA	N/A	Stockpile medical receipts for future 'reimbursements'
Taxable	N/A	​Qualified dividends, interest-exempt bonds, capital gains/loss harvesting

More on ways to access retirement funds early --> Another good one from Mad Fientist

Lastly, my bonus two-cents for aspiring early 'retirees':

• Even if you are able to utilize Traditional IRA now, go ahead and open a Roth IRA (and put in some $) asap, it will get your 5-year clock started for any future rollover (different rule applies for conversion).
• If you contribute to Roth 401(k) or Post-tax 401(k) through payroll deduction, make sure you keep track of the amount of cost basis/contributions you made over the years (exclude employer match), you will need them if you intend to withdraw any of your after-tax contributions​ prior to age 59 ½.  The easiest way to find your Roth 401(k) contributions is in Box 12 of your W2, look for the amount with code "AA", which represents designated Roth contributions under a section 401(k) plan. As for Post-tax 401(k), you should be able to find it in your retirement plan annual statement.
• IMHO, Roth 401(k) is not beneficial for aspiring early retirees based on all the restrictions on early withdrawal. In hindsight, hubby could have probably saved and invested more if he had contributed to Pre-tax 401(k). However, looking on the bright side, we wouldn't have that large green portion (52%) of tax-free (withdrawable) funds now if he had done so. I guess it's good to be diversified. =P ​