I’m doing my math here and not sure where I did it wrong.
So my company only matches 401k maximum $5k/year, dollar for dollar match. I’m not sure if I should contribute up to $5k to get the company match only, or max out to 20k limit. My goal is to retire early, like in my 40s-50s, not 60s. So I would probably want to withdraw my 401k sooner with 10% penalty.
Let’s say my base salary is 150k. Tax rate 30%. For these 2 scenarios, I make sure my non-investment take home salaries are similar to make it fair for comparison.
Scenario 1: only max 401k to company match 5k/year
- my 401K balance after 1 year: 5 + 5 = 10k
- post tax salary: (150-5)*0.7 = 101.5k
- invest with brokerage account: 10k
- non-investment take home salary = 101.5-10 = 91.5k
- I invest for 10 years (let’s say VOO, ROI = 300%) and then withdraw, tax rate is still 30%, 401k has 10% penalty, long term capital gain tax 15%
- balance: 401k + brokerage = 10*300%*0.9*0.7+ 10*300%*0.85= 44.4k
Scenario 2: max 401k to the 20k limit
- my 401K balance after 1 year: 20 + 5 = 25k
- post tax salary: (150-20)*0.7 = 91k
- invest with brokerage account: 0
- non-investment take home salary = 91k (similar to scenario 1)
- I invest for 10 years (let’s say VOO, ROI = 300%) and then withdraw, tax rate is still 30%, 401k has 10% penalty, long term capital gain tax 15%
- balance: 401k + brokerage = 25*300%*0.9*0.7= 47.3k
I think my math isn’t correct but still couldn’t figure it out. Can you let me know where I did it wrong? Thanks!!
Edit: fixing the numbers. Anything else I’m missing?
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