401(k) / Profit Sharing Plans

Your “Roth” account will remain in the plan until you are eligible for and request a distribution of these monies. Upon distribution, your Roth 401(k) account will be subject to current tax laws, unless Congress passes future legislation that provides otherwise.

No. The same investment options are available for your Roth 401(k) contributions.

No. There is currently no provision that allows Roth IRA money to be rolled into a Roth 401(k) plan.

No. If a Roth 401(k) account is distributed in a rollover, it can only be rolled over to a Roth IRA. Any sources of money other than Roth 401(k) can be rolled to a regular IRA account.

Yes, but if you have not satisfied the five-year holding period rule and the distribution is nonqualified (other than for death, disability or attainment of age 59 ½) and not rolled over, the earnings on the Roth 401(k) would be taxable (subject to final IRS regulations).

No. Your Roth 401(k) contributions have no impact on your eligibility to receive employer profit sharing contributions.

Yes, your employer will match Roth 401(k) contributions in the same manner as pre-tax 401(k) contributions. However, if you choose to do Roth 401(k) contributions at a lower deferral rate, your match may be lower too, depending on the total percentage of compensation deferred for the year.

Yes, unless you are precluded from making a Roth IRA contribution based on your adjusted gross income (AGI).

No. The maximum annual limits apply to 401(k) contributions in aggregate. You can make either traditional pre-tax 401(k) contributions, Roth after-tax 401(k) contributions or any combination of the two to the top of the annual limit.

Generally, if you expect to be in a higher tax bracket in retirement, the Roth 401(k) contributions would be very beneficial. However, due to the uncertainty of future tax rates, Roth 401(k) contributions may benefit many participants across the income spectrum as Roth 401(k) contributions serve to diversify tax risk. This is important to understand as changes to the current rates of tax and taxation system could change at any time. A consultation with your tax advisor may help you in determining what type of deferral is best for you given your personal circumstances.

A distribution is qualified if it occurs after the 5-year taxable period during which your contribution was originally deposited to your Roth 401(k) account in your employer’s retirement plan, and the distribution is attributable to your: 1) attainment of age 59 ½, 2) disability or (3) death. In determining the 5-year taxable period, any deferral contributed in a calendar year, even if it is contributed on the last day of the year, is considered contributed on January 1 of that year. For example, a Roth 401(k) contribution made any time in 2015 would be considered contributed on January 1, 2015. If you make your first Roth contribution during 2015, you will satisfy the 5-year requirement on January 1, 2020 with regard to all of your Roth 401(k) source.

Roth 401(k) contributions are salary deferrals contributed on an after-tax basis to your retirement plan account. Roth 401(k) deferrals are taxed before they are contributed to your employer’s retirement plan and the contributions and earnings grow tax-free. If all criteria are met for a “qualified” distribution, then distributions from your Roth account at retirement are 100% income tax free. Traditional 401(k) contributions are salary deferrals contributed on a pre-tax basis. Traditional 401(k) contributions are not taxed before they are contributed to your employer’s plan and the contributions and earnings grow tax-deferred. Distributions in retirement from traditional 401(k) contributions are taxed at ordinary income tax rates, when withdrawn.