Fund my Roth IRA first or 403b? No company match

[dooo42]

I have a Roth IRA and 403b, but i feel I'm not contributing enough so i'm in need of a little advice. Since i am a teacher, I HAVE NO COMPANY MATCH. I'm 37 and will retire in about 25 years, and have about $8,000 in my roth and $50,000 in my 403b. Which should i contribute to first? should i max the roth and then contribute as much as i can to the 403b or max out the 403b first and then fund as much as i can in the Roth? any advice would help. thanks

 

[arebelspy]

I have a Roth IRA and 403b, but i feel I'm not contributing enough so i'm in need of a little advice. Since i am a teacher, I HAVE NO COMPANY MATCH. I'm 37 and will retire in about 25 years, and have about $8,000 in my roth and $50,000 in my 403b. Which should i contribute to first? should i max the roth and then contribute as much as i can to the 403b or max out the 403b first and then fund as much as i can in the Roth? any advice would help. thanks

Depends what you think your tax rate will be now versus in the future. Roth you'll pay taxes on now, the 403b when you withdraw from it. A mixture into both wouldn't be a bad idea. Since you're talking about maxing the 403b (16.5 or whatever the cap is), if you're putting that much to retirement accounts, I'd probably max the Roth at 5.5 and then fill the 403 as much as you can.

Also look into a 457b - some places offer them for teachers instead of, or in addition to, a 403b, and they can be more advantageous.

 

[Packman]

With 25 years to go, I'd fund the Roth first and the 403b second. Since the limit on the Roth is $5,000, you can shoot for some extra money in the 403b as you earn more.