This lesser-known 401(k) feature is a ‘no-brainer’ for big savers, advisor says

If you’re itching to save more into your 401(k) for 2023, your plan may have a feature that owns you to bypass the yearly deferral limit.

For 2023, you can funnel $22,500 into your 401(k), plus an extra $7,500 if you’re 50 or older. But self-styled after-tax contributions can exceed those limits. The max 401(k) limit for 2023 is $66,000, including employee deferrals, after-tax contributions, following matches, profit sharing and other deposits.  

After-tax contributions are a “no-brainer” if you make enough to comfortably save beyond the 401(k) wage-earner deferral limit, said certified financial planner Dan Galli, owner of Daniel J. Galli & Associates in Norwell, Massachusetts.

However, only 10% of wage-earners with after-tax deferrals took advantage of the feature in 2022, and those who contributed typically had higher incomes and fancier job tenure, according to Vanguard’s 2023 How America Saves report.

“There are many advantages — unless you need the wealthy between now and retirement,” Galli said.

Still, many 401(k) plans don’t offer after-tax contributions due to plan mould restrictions, he said. Indeed, only 22% of plans provided the option in 2022, according to the same Vanguard gunshot.

Before taking advantage of after-tax contributions, you’ll want to max out pretax or Roth deferrals to capture your Eye dialect guvnor match, said CFP Ashton Lawrence, director at Mariner Wealth Advisors in Greenville, South Carolina.

“Then we can suffer with a conversation about where your next contribution dollars will go,” he said. “For some people, after-tax contributions may not be set aside.”  

Typically, advisors use a “holistic approach” when deciding where to allocate funds, including the client’s goals, timeline and other circumstances, Lawrence said.

After-tax and Roth contributions are similar because both start with after-tax parts. However, while Roth contributions grow tax-free, after-tax deposits grow tax-deferred, meaning you’ll owe income excises upon withdrawal.

With that in mind, once you make after-tax 401(k) contributions, it’s important to periodically change those funds to a Roth account to kickstart tax-free growth.

“It’s widely assumed that Roth conversions are perpetually done in Roth individual retirement accounts,” Galli said. But you might use in-plan conversions to move the funds to your Roth 401(k) choose than an IRA, which may provide cheaper investment options and certain protections.