Originally Posted by kwri10s

The issue when comparing Roth 401k and regular 401k is you must compare apples to apples. The only way to make that comparison is IF you are saving ALL the tax money you saved by using a regular 401k. If you are not setting aside the equivalent amount of taxes you saved then Roth 401k destroys a regular 401k. If you do set aside all the tax money saved, then the differences are very small. I built a big spreadsheet (yes I'm a geek) and tracked the comparisons over 25 years breaking down by variable tax rates, and returns and mandatory withdrawals. The most I ever got in a difference, either way, was a couple hundred $$ per year. Most differences were in the tens of dollars per year. In essence, the tax savings of apx $7000 per year when invested back overcame the tax savings over the long term. As previously mentioned, we really will not gain any tax advantage in the future with the regular 401k. We will make too much in retirement to get a much lower tax bracket.

If you are closer to 55 then there is less return time for the Roth. If you are younger than 50, then the Roth kills. As mentioned there are other non-actual dollar factors like mandatory withdrawals that can factor into your decision. But now you're into crystal ball forecasting and that's all on you.