Supplementing pension ideas

[onlydarksets]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

In short:
- Do not roll over your 401K, there's no benefit to doing so.

Great post, Schneed. One exception to this is if you have job hopped, and you have a few 401(k)s out there. It could make sense to roll them into a single IRA to make it easier to manage. Personally, I can barely keep up with my traditional IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k), TSP, and taxable savings (not to mention my wife's plans). What's your thought on that?

It also depends on how old you are. If you are younger, you want to pay your taxes now, not at retirement (because your tax rate is presumably lower now than it will be at retirement). In that case, you would contribute in the following order:
1. Max out your employer matching (i.e., if they match 4%, do that first)
2. Max out your Roth IRA
3. Max out your 401(k)

If you are in the middle of your career, I guess you would max out the 401(k), and then see if you are eligible for a Roth IRA.

Disclaimer: I have zero education in finance - this is advice I have received from others, and it seems to "make sense".