Planning your investments to build a retirement fund can be a dizzying prospect. The various questions, options, details, accounts, and amounts are enough to make anyone’s head spin. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a generic recipe for success? A nice neat list of step by step instructions on how to make the best decisions on where, when, and how much when it comes to investing for your retirement? Unfortunately, this list of steps is incredibly dependent upon each individual and their current situation and future plans, so a sure fire success route does not exist. This is why it is important to work with an investment coach that can understand your specific needs.
But before you stop reading, there are a few things that we feel you should know about that will lead you down the right path. Here’s the order that is suggested for the majority of people in terms of what retirement accounts to invest in.
1. Fulfill Your Company’s Match Program: Most companies, even small companies, offer some sort of retirement account. Smaller companies usually have simple IRA’s or SEP IRA’s, while larger companies usually have 401k’s. There is a high likelihood that your company has a match program as part of their plan. This means that for each contribution you make into your account, the company will match it up to a certain amount. So match programs offer an instant 100% return on the money invested. Before you invest anywhere else, make sure you are investing enough in your work retirement plan to get your full match.
Before we move on, here is word of warning on the company retirement plan. If you don’t plan on working for the company long term, make sure you check out the vesting schedule. A lot of company retirement plans don’t give you full access to your money unless you work there for a few years.
2. IRA to the Max: An IRA is an individual retirement account that can be opened by anyone seeking to invest. Investing in an IRA usually gives you more investment choices and flexibility than is offered in many 401k plans. Also, you have the Roth option. There has been a long standing battle between the Traditional IRA’s and the Roth IRA’s. When it comes to your retirement planning, your Roth IRA should win this battle in most cases. There are a few different reasons why you should make this move. Investing in a Roth allows you to pay taxes on your income now, and avoid the higher tax rate as it grows in your retirement. The total taxes paid with a Roth IRA from opening of account to death and beyond are almost always less than with a Traditional IRA.
Another thing to consider if you are married is opening an IRA for your spouse. Even if they are not working you can contribute to their IRA and max it out as well.
3. Company Retirement Plan to the Max: After you have reached your company’s matching level and have maxed out your IRA or Roth IRA, turn your funds back to the company retirement plan until they are maxed out as well. Having both your Roth IRA and your company retirement plan maxed out gives you some variety in your portfolio in terms of how the investments are taxed. This variety gives you something of a safety net in terms of how taxes and other investments change over time and the affect they will have on your funds.
4. Open Taxable (Non-Qualified) Accounts: If you have maxed out your company plan and an IRA for your and your spouse, congratulations, you are doing very well in the retirement planning side of things. But what if you still want to put more money away? There are still options. You can still invest more money in a non-qualified account. If you are married this would be a joint account, and for the singles it is a personal account. There are a few advantages and disadvantages of this type of account. This is not a tax sheltered account, so there is no taxable advantage. But one big advantage is there is no tax penalty or fee for taking the money out at any age for any reason. For that reason a lot of people use this account as an emergency fund.
This plan is not something to jump into without doing your homework. There is a lot of things to know, and I haven’t even gotten into life insurance and that side of the retirement planning. Like I mentioned before, there is a reason that no one has created a perfect plan that fits everyone. Depending on your personal income, you might not be eligible for certain accounts, like a Roth IRA. But, for most people, looking for a general order of priority for their retirement investments, these four steps are a great place to start.
By Jimmy Hancock