% assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

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% assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

0% - no retirement assets... yet
1
1%
0.1 - 25%
34
18%
50 - 75%
54
28%
50 - 75%
54
28%
75 - 99.9%
40
21%
100% only have retirement assets
11
6%
 
Total votes: 194

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jeff mc
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% assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by jeff mc »

what % of your assets are locked up in tax-deferred and tax-advantaged retirement accounts (e.g. IRAs, 401k, 401a, 403b, 457, SEPs, annuities, etc) instead of non-retirement accounts, funds, bonds, stocks? ignore short-term cash reserves. count 529s as non-retirement. ignore real estate and personal property.

personally, i think we’re almost overweighted in retirement accounts. we just can’t pass up the immediate tax savings. we may end up having to withdraw roth IRA contributions and/or do penalty-free 72(t) IRA distributions if (when) we retire early. and that’d be fine, i guess.
Sam I Am
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More than I want in taxable accounts.............

Post by Sam I Am »

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Last edited by Sam I Am on Sat Oct 05, 2013 12:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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JohnYaker
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Retirement = Tax-deferred?

Post by JohnYaker »

.
Only 39% of of my assets are in tax-deferred accounts, but my total portfolio is intended for 'retirement'.

John
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mickeyd
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Post by mickeyd »

About 90% of my portfolio is in tax favored accounts (IRA/Roth/403b etc). Of that stash, about 90% is in non-Roth accounts, so I will be paying a bunch of income tax in the future however, I appreciate the use of tax-deferred money all of this time (35 years).
Last edited by mickeyd on Sat Apr 07, 2007 3:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Jake46
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I Like JohnYaker's Post

Post by Jake46 »

75% of my investment portfolio is in a post-tax brokerage account & 25% is in tax-deferred accounts but 100% is for retirement.
Jake36
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alvinsch
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Post by alvinsch »

93% taxable, 7% tax advantaged. Already retired.
- Al
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wwhan
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Post by wwhan »

39% in tax deferred (401k/IRA), 61% in taxable and growing much faster than tax deferred.
livesoft
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Post by livesoft »

Fixed income haven't done so well the last couple years. This asset class is all in our tax-deferred accounts. Our taxable accounts have lots of nice unrealized capital gains.

Also one is limited in the amounts one can put into tax-deferred, but there are no limits to what one can put in taxable.

These facts make our taxable assets more than our tax deferred assets.
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TnGuy
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Post by TnGuy »

99%+ retirement. We have a very small amount of individual stock that we intend to continue to sit upon.


David
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minesweep
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Post by minesweep »

I have 63% in taxable, and 37% in tax-advantaged accounts. I retired 6 years ago (the main reason my taxable account is much greater). During my working years I always contributed the maximum amount allowed to my 401K plan. If I recall correctly, 6% was the maximum contribution permitted during the first year of the plans existence. And some, or all of it, had to be after-tax dollars contributions.

My tax-advantaged accounts:
IRA (401K rollover)
IRA (ESOP rollover)
IRA before-tax (the early years when income limits were not in effect)
IRA after-tax (wish I hadn’t done those 3 or 4 years due to future record keeping)
Roth IRA (from the date it was first established in 1998 thru 2001)

Mike K
cherijoh
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Post by cherijoh »

I'm 60% tax deferred, 40% taxable. It used to be higher, but I received an inheritance that increased taxable account substantially.

C
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DRiP Guy
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Post by DRiP Guy »

Interesting -- I just looked at my real numbers, and I am exactly 80.05% tax-advantaged, and 19.95% non-advantaged. I don't see this ratio changing much as I approach ER.
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WiseNLucky
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Post by WiseNLucky »

There is a very normal distribution shift in invested assets as one ages. We begin almost exclusively in tax advantaged accounts as we begin 401(k) plan investing and eventually expand that to include IRA/Roth. We tend to have little disposable income early in our careers as we struggle to get into our homes and raise a family.

As we get older, our incomes rise, we may bump against investment maximums in tax advantaged accounts and, most importantly, we may get to the point that our children are launched and our mortgages are paid off. At that point, a much larger portion of our savings and investment start taking place in taxable accounts.

So the poll would be more informative if there were a way to factor age into it. I'm still a little more than 50% tax advantaged but the taxable is catching up fast. Only 5 years ago, I had zero in taxable accounts beyond my emergency fund. Every spare disposable dollar was going toward my mortgage.
WiseNLucky
gkaplan
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Post by gkaplan »

My TSP and my Vanguard Roth and rollover accounts make up my entire retirement portfolio.

I do have money in Vanguard's Short Term Bond Index Fund and in Vanguard's Treasury Money Market Fund; however, the former is a "new car" fund," and the latter works as sort of an emergency fund.
Gordon
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JAIrwin
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by JAIrwin »

This is a good topic. I just now came across it after reading Rick Rodger's book, The New Three Legged Stool for Retirement.

Are there "target" percentages of assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts that you all try to achieve, or is it just the natural flow of things with your current tax bracket and maxing out retirement accounts, etc?

Thanks!
Jacob Irwin, graduate student/PF blogger
livesoft
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by livesoft »

Natural flow of things.

Ideally, I would like to populate my Roth IRA after paying taxes on the contributions at the 0% tax rate.
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nodenuff2
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by nodenuff2 »

88-12.
2014 No. 42 2015 No.342 2016 No. 6 2017 238 2018 no. 175 2019 no. 144 6 year average 157.83. Proves I am just an average investor.What do I know? "Good bless America land that I love..."
Twolfy
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by Twolfy »

60/40 retirement/non-retirement. Happens to be same as my AA
origami
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by origami »

A related question, I keep changing my mind about it:

Let's say I'm 30 years old and have enough saved in 401k already to retire at 59 1/2.
In reality I plan to retire in 10 years (40 years old).

Does it make sense to max out 401k payments?
We have Vanguard funds available in 401k, funds selection is not an issue.
But if I'm in 25% bracket now (less on qualified dividends), would it be noticeably better to withdraw from 401k in 10 years with an unknown future income tax rate + 10% fee?
What are the chances that 10% fee will be increased or the law will change to make it more difficult to withdraw from 401k before retirement age?

Currently I only contribute to 401k enough to get the employer's match and invest the rest of the money into taxable account. My reasoning is: 25% rate is low and I can easily withdraw at any time.

Please share your opinion :happy
Sidney
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by Sidney »

My opinion is that if you are concerned that money would be locked up in a 401(k) it isn't likely you would have enough to retire at 40 anyway. I'd max it out.
I always wanted to be a procrastinator.
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Peter Foley
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by Peter Foley »

A lot will depend on what you plan to do when you retire. If you plan to live modestly and will be in a low tax bracket, I would continue to pile funds into an deferred account. You will need to draw for it for a long long time before getting SS. Lots of years at 15% tax bracket withdrawals.
bluelight
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by bluelight »

Excluding my Emergency fund and the small amount that I keep in my local checking / savings for monthly bills, only 3.7% is in taxable. That figure will get even smaller when I fund my 2012 IRA next week.
linenfort
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by linenfort »

14% and counting in deferred.
Age 42 (and counting :wink: )
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Sheepdog
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by Sheepdog »

This poll started in 2007. Now it has been revived in 2013. Has there been changes?
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origami
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by origami »

Peter Foley wrote:A lot will depend on what you plan to do when you retire. If you plan to live modestly and will be in a low tax bracket, I would continue to pile funds into an deferred account. You will need to draw for it for a long long time before getting SS. Lots of years at 15% tax bracket withdrawals.
But it won't be 15%, it will be 10% + 15(or really unknown)%, right?
Default User BR
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by Default User BR »

origami wrote:Let's say I'm 30 years old and have enough saved in 401k already to retire at 59 1/2.
In reality I plan to retire in 10 years (40 years old).
Roll to an IRA and set up a SEPP


Brian
origami
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by origami »

Sidney wrote:My opinion is that if you are concerned that money would be locked up in a 401(k) it isn't likely you would have enough to retire at 40 anyway. I'd max it out.
You're right that this decision will not make too big of difference. I see it as a choice between two good options, no loosing scenario. But in this case you as easily could say: "It doesn't matter that much, invest into taxable" :wink:
xram
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by xram »

77% taxable
23% tax-advantaged
VTI, VBR, VTWV, SCHH, VXUS, VEA, VWO, VSS, FM, VNQI, VBTLX, VFITX, SCHP, VWITX, IBONDS, EEBONDS, EF(EverBank), UTAH-529
PR101
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by PR101 »

82% Taxable, 18% Tax-Advantaged. ER 2.5 years ago.
scrabbler1
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by scrabbler1 »

About 2/3 in non-retirement accounts, 1/3 in retirement accounts. Early retiree.
Sam I Am
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by Sam I Am »

Message deleted.
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Bharat
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by Bharat »

70% taxable, 30% tax advantage (401K, IRA,IBonds). The taxable % is dropping slowly, as I fully invest in all three items. Hope that in next 10 years, the % will stabilize to 60:40 (tax advantage space). Although the taxable % may drop further when I buy a house and use my taxable bonds to pay for initial deposits.
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Grt2bOutdoors
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

Sheepdog wrote:This poll started in 2007. Now it has been revived in 2013. Has there been changes?
My thoughts exactly - it started when I joined and it has been resurrected. :o Not that many changes, I'm running about 50/50 right now.
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JW-Retired
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by JW-Retired »

20% taxable.
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Garco
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Re: % assets in retirement vs. non-retirement accounts?

Post by Garco »

Currently 99% in tax advantaged retirement accounts. Next year this will drop to about 60% as a large sum of money is heading my way (bequest). Then I'll really have to think about how to invest my money because I'll have so many more choices to make.
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