First things first, regardless of how your 401k or other employer plan’s investments and fees are structured, investors should always contribute enough to their employer retirement plans to receive the full employer matching…aka the free money.
After that, don’t max out your contributions blindly. There are a number of factors that should be considered when determining where your savings should be invested, and an employer retirement plan should be analyzed just as thoroughly as any other investment vehicle.
For example, a low earner with access to a poorly constructed and expensive 401k plan may find it more advantageous to only contribute enough to receive the full employer matching (free money), while making the remainder of their contributions to a Traditional or Roth IRA that offers full diversification with lower fees; at least until they reach maximum IRA contributions.
If the same investor is a high earner, eating those high expenses might be worth it. Inherently, these investors have more excess income to be deferred in the first place. If they’re in the 32% tax bracket currently, they may want to defer income until they retire in a few years and their tax bracket drops to 22%. In this scenario, the tax savings may outweigh the high costs of the 401k plan.
You could also ask for a copy of your plan’s 408(b)(2) and 405(a)5 fee disclosures and fund expense breakdown to find out.
Once you determine the best vehicle(s) to make your contributions, how should you invest it? You can refer to last month’s article Asset Allocation and Risk Tolerance or you can access Oak Street Advisors’ 401k Like a Boss employer plan investment strategy workbook as a starting point.
