Benefits of maxing out 401k?

Dremio
OEUR11

Go to company page Dremio

OEUR11
Apr 19 14 Comments

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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TOP 14 Comments
  • New
    vOv

    New

    vOv
    Your math is bad
    Apr 19 6
    • Amazon / Biz Dev
      Triber

      Go to company page Amazon Biz Dev

      PRE
      Salesforce
      BIO
      AWS 5+ years, people manager, mentor, Bar Raiser. 20+ yrs in sales, marketing, and business development.
      Triber
      Plan to retire at 59 1/2 to avoid penalties. Do the back door Roth to save more and use earlier.
      Apr 19
    • New
      vOv

      New

      vOv
      Looks about right now. If you really can retire that young, you can also put money in a Roth 401k and draw from that first (I believe only penalty for money taken off within five years). Other money you can draw from savings. Regardless, if you can retire that young, your 401k contributions probably will be insignificant compared to your other savings unless you plan to move to a cheap country and then I have no idea about tax liability.
      Apr 19
  • Yahoo
    jtOQ60

    Go to company page Yahoo

    jtOQ60
    🍿
    Apr 19 0
  • Walmart
    fa62be

    Go to company page Walmart

    fa62be
    Assume you invest 30-40 years and don’t pay the 10% penalty. Also, instead of a brokerage account, max out a HSA and/or Roth first.
    Apr 19 0
  • Just use a online tool (smartasset). And yes those calculations are way off.
    Apr 19 0
  • FIS
    SpringL33t

    Go to company page FIS

    SpringL33t
    Do 401k match, then max RothIRA, then max HSA, then max 401k or look into real estate.
    Apr 19 1