403B, 457, & Sep-IRA contributions

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jimmy
Posts: 69
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 1:29 am

403B, 457, & Sep-IRA contributions

Post by jimmy »

If somebody has a job doing consulting work for the UC system (403B offered), a job with the county (457 offered) and has a private practice on the side (Sep-IRA), could you theoretically contribute to all 3 of these retirement accounts? Any insight is much appreciated..
NightFall
Posts: 336
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 4:38 pm

Re: 403B, 457, & Sep-IRA contributions

Post by NightFall »

As someone with all of those accounts, the answer is yes. There are limits on voluntary contributions, and you have to make sure you don't violate any 415c limits. A 403B, unfortunately, has an aggregation rule with respect to the 415c limit and your SEP-IRA. That's really only an issue if you're getting close to the 415c limit though. 457 accounts aren't aggregated with the other accounts under the 415c limit if I remember correctly. Technically you could also contribute to an IRA as well.
Topic Author
jimmy
Posts: 69
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 1:29 am

Re: 403B, 457, & Sep-IRA contributions

Post by jimmy »

Thanks NightFall.. I'll look into the 415c limit.
Alan S.
Posts: 12629
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 6:07 pm
Location: Prescott, AZ

Re: 403B, 457, & Sep-IRA contributions

Post by Alan S. »

This will not be an issue if the contributions are limited to either plan. However, if you are making a large SEP contribution it becomes a cat and mouse game. The 403b plan is responsible for restricting the 403 contributions based on the SEP contribution. But you do not know the SEP contribution for the year several months before you make it. The 403b may ask for a preliminary estimate of the SEP contribution, and then check back nearer the end of the year for an update. Since net earnings from self employment is typically not finalized until the year's tax return is worked up, there could be a surprise requiring a reduction.

I doubt if this ever works smoothly unless it is not an issue to begin with due to total 403b and SEP contributions coming in well under the 53k.
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