In the family of financial planning products, the Roth individual retirement account (IRA) sometimes looks like the cool younger brother of thetraditional IRA. Indeed, the Roth version, first introduced in 1997, offers a number of attractive features that its standard sibling lacks: the absence of required minimum distributions (RMDs), plus the flexibility to withdraw money prior to retirement without penalties.
A Roth indeed makes sense at certain points in your life. At others, however, the traditional version of the IRA or 401(k) has a strong allure as well. Often, choosing between one or the other comes down to how much you're making now and how much you expect to bring in once you stop working.
Key Takeaways
- A Roth IRA involves after-tax contributions and tax-free withdrawals; conversely, a traditional IRA allows you to deduct contribution amounts and lower your taxable income (but withdrawals are taxed).
- A Roth IRA or 401(k) makes the most sense if you're confident of having a higher income in retirement than you do now.
- If you expect your income (and tax rate) to be higher at present and lower in retirement, a traditional IRA or 401(k) is likely the better bet.
- A traditional IRA allows you to devote less income now to making the maximum contribution to the account, giving you more available cash.
- If predicting your future tax status is difficult, you can hedge your bets by contributing to both a traditional and a Roth account in the same year.
Different Accounts, Different Tax Treatments
Here's a quick refresher on the respective major types of retirement accounts. Both offer distinct tax advantages for those squirreling away money for retirement. However, each works a little differently.
With a traditional IRA or 401(k), you invest with pretax dollars (your contributions are deductible from taxable income) and pay income tax when you take money out in retirement. That means you pay tax on both the original investments and on what they earned. A Roth involves just the opposite. You invest money that's already been taxed at your ordinary rate and withdraw it—and its earnings—tax free in retirement whenever you want, provided you've had the account for at least five years.
Another benefit of a Roth is that you can withdraw the amount you contributed (though not your earnings) at any time—even before you retire—tax free and penalty free.
In choosing between Roth and traditional IRAs, the key issue is whether your income tax rate will be greater or lesser than at present once you start tapping the account's funds. Without the benefit of a crystal ball, that's impossible to know for sure; essentially, you're forced to make an educated guess.
For instance, Congress could make changes to the tax code during the intervening years. There's also a time factor. If you're opening the Roth late in life, you need to be sure you'll be able to have it for five years before starting to take distributions in order to reap the tax benefits.
The Case for a Roth
For younger workers who have yet to realize their earning potential, Roth accounts have a definite edge. That's because when you first enter the workforce, it's quite possible that your effective tax rate, expressed as a percentage, will be on the low end. Your salary will likely increase over the years, resulting in greater income—and quite possibly a higher tax bracket—in retirement. Consequently, there's an incentive to front-load your tax burden.
"We advise younger workers to go with the Roth because time is on their side," says financial advisor BrockWilliamson, a certified financial planner withPromontory Financial Planning in Farmington, Utah. "Growth and compounding are one of the beautiful truths about investing, especially when the growth and compounding are tax-free in the Roth."
Another reason is that if you're young, your earnings have decades to compound, and with a Roth, you will owe zero taxes on all that money when you withdraw it at retirement. With a traditional IRA, you'll pay taxes on those earnings.
On the other hand, if you choose a traditional IRA or 401(k), you have to divert less of your income to retirement in order to make the same monthly contributions to the account. That's because contributions are tax deductible. The Roth essentially requires you to pay upfront both the contribution and the taxes on it. That's a plus for a traditional account, in the short term, at least.
Roth IRA vs Regular Investment Account
Now let's take a closer look. Let’s say that after making the maximum contribution to your traditional retirement account, you then choose to invest all or part of the tax you saved into a regular (non-retirement) investment account—and compare that with investing in a Roth. Those non-retirement investments will not only be using post-tax dollars, but you'll also be taxed on their earnings once you cash them out at the capital gains rate.
Because of those differences, you might end up paying more tax in the long run than if you put the entire sum you can afford to invest in a Roth account, or as much as the limit allows, in the first place.
Forgoing the Roth Due to Taxes
The tax argument for contributing to a Roth can easily turn upside down if you happen to be in your peak earning years. If you're now in one of the higher tax brackets, your tax rate in retirement may have nowhere to go but down. In this case, you're probably better off postponing the tax hit by contributing to a traditional retirement account.
For the most affluent investors, the decision may be moot anyway due to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) income restrictions for Roth accounts. For 2023, individuals can't contribute to a Roth if they earn $153,000 or more per year—or $228,000 or more if they are married and file a joint return. In 2024, those thresholds increase to $161,000 and $240,000.
Contributions are also reduced, though not eliminated, at lower incomes. For 2023, phaseouts begin at $138,000 for single filers and $218,000 for couples filing jointly. For 2024, they begin at $146,000 and $230,000, respectively.
While thereare a few strategies to legally circumvent these rules, those with a higher tax rate may not have a compelling reason to do so.
If your income is relatively low, a traditional IRA or 401(k) may let you get more plan contributions back as a savers' tax credit than you’ll save with a Roth.
Using a Traditional Account to Lower Your AGI
A traditional IRA or 401(k) can result in a lower adjusted gross income (AGI) because your pretax contributions are deducted from that figure, whereas after-tax contributions to a Roth are not. If you have a relatively modest income, that lower AGI can help you maximize the amount you receive from the saver's tax credit,which is available to eligible taxpayers who contribute to an employer-sponsored retirement plan or a traditional or Roth IRA.
Under the program, the percentage of contributions credited back to your taxes depends on your AGI. As the credit is designed to encourage lower-income workers to contribute more to their retirement plans, the lower the AGI, the higher the percentage credited back to you. For 2023, joint filers with an AGI above $73,000 ($76,500 in 2024) receive no credit, but those with a lower AGI get between 20% and 50% of their contributions credited back to them.
Consequently, pretax retirement contributions can boost credit by lowering your AGI. That lowering can be especially useful if your AGI is just above a threshold figure that, if met, would deliver a bigger credit to you.
Skipping the Roth to Boost Immediate Income
There's another reason to hedge on a Roth and it relates to access to income now versus potential tax savings down the road. A Roth can take more income out of your hands in the short term because you're forced to contribute in after-tax dollars. With a traditional IRA or 401(k), by contrast, the income required to contribute the same maximum amount to the account would be lower, because the account draws on pretax income.
If that immediate windfall from using a traditional account is invested, we argued above, a Roth can actually offer the better tax option. Nevertheless, there are many uses for the money other than investing it. The amount saved by making a maximum contribution to the account in pretax dollars could instead be used for any number of useful, even vital, purposes—buying a home, creating an emergency fund, taking vacations, and so on.
The upshot is that a traditional retirement account increases your financial flexibility. It allows you to make the maximum allowed contribution to the IRA or 401(k) while having extra cash in hand for other purposes before you retire.
The Argument for Both Roth and Traditional
If you're somewhere in the middle of your career, predicting your future tax status might seem like a complete shot in the dark. In that case, you can contribute to both a traditional and a Roth account in the same year, thereby hedging your bet. The main stipulation is that your combined contributions for 2023 can't exceed $6,500 annually, or $7,500 with a catch-up contribution of $1,000 for those age 50 and over. For 2024, your maximum contribution amount is $7,000, or $8,000 with the same catch-up contribution of $1,000.
There can be other advantages to owning both a traditional and a Roth IRA or 401(k), says James B. Twining, a CFP and founder of Financial Plan in Bellingham, Wash. He notes:
In retirement, there may be some 'low tax' years due to large long-term care expenses or other factors. Withdrawals can be taken from the traditional IRA in those years at a very low or even a 0% tax bracket. There may also be some 'high tax' years, due to large capital gains or other issues. In those years the distributions can come from the Roth IRA to prevent 'bracket spiking,' which can occur with large traditional IRA withdrawals if the total taxable income causes the investor to enter a higher graduated tax bracket.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are Reasons Not to Open a Roth IRA?
If you are not able to leave the earnings on your contributions in a Roth IRA for a sufficient period of time (five years), you will incur penalties for early withdrawal. Your contributions can be withdrawn at any time. Additionally, if your 2023 income is $153,000 or more, Roth IRA contributions from a single filer are not permitted. If you are married and filing jointly, that limit is $228,000. If your 2024 income as a single filer will be $161,000 or greater, then you won't be able to contribute to a Roth IRA. The limit is $240,000 for those who are married and filing joint returns. For those who are single, your maximum contribution will be reduced if you earn between $138,000 and $153,000 in 2023. For 2024, that range is $146,000 to $161,000.
What Is the Best Age to Open a Roth IRA?
The earlier you start a Roth IRA, the better. There is no age limit for contributing funds, but there is an age limit for when you can start withdrawals. You must be 59½ years old to start withdrawing the earnings on contributions or you must pay taxes and penalties. Also, to avoid taxes, the funds must be in the account for five years.
When you put money into a Roth IRA, you will be paying taxes on your income before the money goes into the fund. When you take money out, it will only be tax free if it has been in your Roth IRA for five years and you are 59½ years old.
Can My Spouse Use My Roth IRA?
Your spouse cannot contribute to your IRA, but they can be named as a beneficiary on the account. The funds will then go directly to your named beneficiaries without going through probate. Named beneficiaries must take funds at least one year after your death. If you do not name a beneficiary, your spouse (if they are your primary beneficiary) can opt to inherit your Roth IRA or roll it over to a Roth IRA in their name.
Can a Non-Earning Spouse Open a Roth IRA in Their Own Name?
Yes, if you are married and filing jointly, your spouse may open their own Roth IRA—a spousal IRA—and fund it separately from yours, even if they do not have any earned income. The combined income of both spouses is treated the same way, even if one spouse generates 100% of the income and the other spouse generates 0%.
The Bottom Line
Although the best time to open a Roth IRA is when you are young and have the magic of compounding and interest on your side, it can also be a useful vehicle when you are older and would like to fund an account that is not subject to required minimum distribution rules during the life of the participant. The entire account can be saved until it is needed later in retirement without taxes on distributions. If not needed, your heirs can inherit the Roth IRA with tax-free distributions. (There are minimum distributions after the owner dies.)
