Individual under 50

Submitted by Erwin Buck on Thu, 2019-12-19 20:55

Can an individual max contribute to their 401(k), which has a Roth option and also fund the the Roth with additional $6k?



Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Fri, 2019-12-20 00:05

Yes. These two limits do not directly affect each other. However, making Roth 401k contributions instead of pre tax contributions will result in MAGI being higher, and the higher MAGI might result in some taxpayers becoming subject to phase out of their regular Roth IRA contribution limit, so there is an indirect relationship between the two.

Submitted by Erwin Buck on Fri, 2019-12-20 00:34

Alan, I see you have been very busy but want to quickly clarify.  2019 a person under 50 can contribute $19k + $6k to the 401(k) that also allows a Roth option?  Could she take the total of $25k and split to the regular and Roth within her 401(k)?  Alan, I always appreciate your help, wisdom and timely responses.  Have a great holiday!Erwin  

Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Fri, 2019-12-20 01:21

  • Erwin, not exactly. The 19,000 is the max limit for 401k deferrals. That 19,000 can be split in any manner between the pre tax and the Roth option in the 401k.  The other 6,000 is the IRA contribution limit, so that 6,000 can be contributed to a TIRA or Roth IRA, subject to the income limits for the Roth contribution. 
  • I see that perhaps your first question was not about a Roth IRA contribution, but whether an additional 6k above the 19k could be contributed to the Roth 401k. It could not, but if modified AGI is not too high, a 6k Roth IRA contribution could be made. 

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