Would you contribute to 401k if you werent matched by your company?
No matching 401k would likely be a deal breaker for any offers on the table.
No, I would rather pay taxes on all my salary.
Lol
Not investing in a 401k is foolish, regardless of a company match. Most employers match 1/2...UP to 3% of contributions. Since the cap on 401k is $18,000 ($18,500 for ‘18), the amount of the match is negligible. I saw a 17% rate of return on my portfolio using mutual funds this year alone. Not bad considering I contributed with pre-tax dollars and have no intent of taking the money until eligible.
Microsoft matches half up to $18k, meaning they’ll contribute $9k. Pretty nice TBH.
Really depends on case by case basis. Generally you are right. Investing pre tax amount in investments that grow tax free is a good idea. However, not true for people who are unsure if they are planning to start in the US for more than 5 years. Investing in 401k may still make sense even if you want to remove the money before retirement, but usually doesn't make sense if you think you will need the money within the next 10 years. So, I would say lock your money in 401k only if you are okay with not using the money for the next 10 years.
Even without matching 401k is a good deal. My year to date gain currently says 20% with essentially zero effort. You would have to beat that on your own just to break even given the tax advantage. Keep in mind also that you can borrow against your 401k typically (I think it's usually $50k max) so some of that is available if needed. That said, working somewhere with a good matching program (Capital One's is really good) would make me think twice about going somewhere that doesn't match at all.
If I am getting a match then I try to max out my paycheck contribution towards the start of the year (that is if I don't need that cash to spend on something important). This way my contribution limit to 401k is reached in first 3-4months of the year. It is true that I may be risking by not spreading it evenly across the year but I kind of prepare in the event I want to quit my job. If there is no company match then I spread contributions evenly (aka Dollar Cost Averaging) across the year.
Many (most?) people here contribute the maximum pre-tax amount, getting their employers match, and complement it with post-tax contributions, for tax-free growth.
Poll?
Done