Originally Posted by FlightCrewTools

This is a good explanation of the process. I’ve been doing this for years on a much less aggressive basis, generally shooting to have a 50:50 ratio of Traditional:Roth money.



The DPSP is unique from many other 401k plans out there, in that Delta contributes a very high % (relative to other US employers), which if done over decades will result in a high balance of traditional (pre-tax) retirement money.



Having a mix of pre-tax and Roth money in retirement, not only lowers your mandatory retirement income due to Required Minimum Distributions at age 70.5, it allows you to manage your tax bracket better by having access to Roth $ for spending (which is after tax and won’t bump you into a higher tax bracket in retirement.)



All of the above theory is based on the un-knowable future wrt tax brackets, politics, national debt (although we do know which way it’s trending), the viability of SS, etc. Given that there is no right answer, I’ve chosen a balanced approach. That may not be the right play for everyone - DYODD.