401(k)s and IRAs: Grow your money, shrink your taxes

How to invest for retirement so that you get rich - and the IRS doesn't.

Cash It Out
Ready for the Roth IRA
Since a Roth IRA doesn't force you to ever take out money, you can dip into this last. If, however, you look to be in an abnormally high bracket for the year - say, because you took a job - you may want to withdraw from your Roth IRA first.

A Roth IRA can be a nice way of giving you more flexibility in managing your income in retirement. If, for example, withdrawals from a 401(k) combined with Social Security and other income are about to push you into a higher tax bracket in a given year, you can always dip into your Roth.

It's also important to remember that your Roth IRA can be a great means of harvesting tax losses. By selling an investment which you've lost money on and applying that loss against future capital gains, you are, in effect, reducing your tax bill.
Your 401(k) A top priority Go for an IRA MONEY's best savings strategy Take your 401(k) with you When is converting to a Roth IRA the right move? Withdraw money sparingly, if ever, and never pay a penalty First things first Tax-deferred accounts come next Ready for the Roth IRA
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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.