Question

Jenny (35 years old) is considering making a one-time contribution to either a traditional 401(k) plan or to a Roth 401(k) plan. She plans to withdraw the account balance when she retires in 40 years. Jenny expects to earn a 7% before-tax rate of return no matter which plan she contributes to.

Which of the following statements is true?

A. If Jenny's marginal tax rate in the year of contribution is higher than her marginal tax rate in the year of distribution, she will earn a higher after-tax rate of return on the traditional 401(k) plan than on the Roth 401(k) plan.
B. If Jenny's marginal tax rate in the year of contribution is lower than her marginal tax rate in the year of distribution, she will earn a higher after-tax rate of return on the traditional 401(k) plan than on the Roth 401(k) plan.
C. Jenny will earn the same after-tax rate of return no matter which plan she contributes to.
D. Jenny is not allowed to make a one-time contribution to either plan.

Answer 1

The statement which is true is as follow:

A. If Jenny's marginal tax rate in the year of contribution is higher than her marginal tax rate in the year of distribution, she will earn a higher after-tax rate of return on the traditional 401(k) plan than on the Roth 401(k) plan.

Step-by-step explanation:

• Traditional and Roth 401(k) are the retirement saving plans and have a difference that is important to understand by you.
• In Traditional 401(k), contributions are made before tax that means your withdrawals are taxed Roth 401(k) contributions are made after tax that mean withdrawals are not taxed.
• The option A is correct as Jenny's marginal tax rate in the year of contribution is higher than her marginal tax rate in the year of distribution but she will earn a higher after-tax rate of return on the traditional 401(k) plan than on the Roth 401(k) plan as it has been discussed in the above point that in traditional 401(k), our withdrawals are taxed but not in Roth 401(k).