Max out 401K or Open an IRA (roth/traditional)?

[eskercurve]

I think it would be more constructive if we gave the OP advice on what tax havens and tax shelters you can move your capital into other than a 401(k) or Roth IRA, instead of politicizing the debate or arguing needlessly. Future scenarios will likely be the following: 1) higher taxes to cover rising debt payments we're making to foreign creditors, 2) higher taxes to support an aging population, 3) deferment of social security funds to age 72 by 2050, 4) higher capital gains taxes.

So, given this future world scenario that isn't very different from today, just higher taxes, what should we be investing in to keep Uncle Sam's hands out of our basket, assuming they don't "raid the 401(k)" like that delusional blogger wrote?

[suzie02]

We max out both the 401k and the Roth IRA. Some companies are starting to offer Roth 401k and we ever that chance we would that.
Another thing unless you plan to work for the same company forever you can rollover your 401k into an IRA every time you change companies. Once you have it in a IRA you can convert it to a Roth so a 401k could be a way to put more money into a Roth than the measly $5000 per year.

[ndfmnlf]

Originally Posted by sterlinggirl

Yeah, I get that you're going to have an argument for any alternative to your religious belief in a 401K. Let's get past that for just a minute and just accept that every investment has some sort of risk so we can look at the big picture.

The question is: Are you better off localizing decades worth of risk into one bank under one type of account under one government, or is it a little safer to spread the risk around a little?

I don't know about you, but I have actually lived overseas and know what the investment climates are like in different countries. Western Europe, Canada, and Australia all have tax rates that are higher than the US. Asia - while booming - can have spurts of political instability. Ditto for Latin America and other emerging markets. So, where do you propose hiding your assets from Uncle Sam?

Who says you have to localize your assets under one bank under one type of account? Last time I checked, you can have different custodians for your IRAs and 401ks. You can buy as many different types of mutual funds (which are themselves separate companies) in these accounts. But yeah, like it or not, you only have one government you live under, but that's true for everyone who is a citizen of one country or another.