vagabond

LAFF! Try to control yourself!

duece123

I agree with the good attitude of this forum. I have learned quite a lot about general investing and $$$$ management from you goons!!! thanks! Where else do you guys look for investment/money advice?

ToiletDuck

ok Vagabond you can do 401k as an individaul but you won't have company contributions. This lets you put in your 15k instead of 3-4k in the roth. You can do them through fidelity ect. They have a minimum of $2k to start with. Like I said you don't get any company benifits but you do get the tax benifits.

RedeyeAV8r

I think you are confusing 401K with an IRA or Roth IRA.

A 401K is an "Employer sponsored" plan that allows "you" the individual to deposit a % of your own money each month (Tax deferred) from your paycheck. The Limit is 15% of your salary or $15,000 max annually. Some companies or employers will match your contributions but that is at the company discreation and not mandatory. I have worked for companies that offer 401's but didn't contribute a dime. I have worked at other places where the match was fairly generous. (up to 10%)

The I in IRA stands for Individual.
Anyone can open up an IRA (yea with Fidelity or Vangaurd or your local bank)
$500 is usually the minium opening amount. Depending on your Gross W-2 income, the IRS let you defer up to $2500 annually. That amount may have increased.

Bottom line is You can't start up your own personal 401K as just an individual. If you own a small business and have Emplyees, with certain limitiations, you offer a 401K to you employees, including yourself, if you are an Employee of your company.

LAfrequentflyer

Negative...Read above post...401K - company sponsored. IRA - 'I'

-LAFF

ToiletDuck

That might have been how it has been in the past. However with my TD waterhouse account I can start my own 401k. My brother-in-law says you can do it with fidelity as well. He uses them.

For TD waterhouse they just require a minimum of $2k in funds to deposit into it. Take a look. An IRA does not allow you to contribute as much as a 401k does. Perhaps that's why you can do it. Perhaps it's just setup with TD waterhouse?

RedeyeAV8r

Toilet Duck I know the difference between an IRA and 401.

You cannot open an 401k for yourself .....Unless you have your own business. If you have your own business than you can open what is called a
"SEP-401k" which is similar to what is called a SEP-IRA.
The maximum deposit limits are higher than a regular IRA or Roth IRA per IRS codes.

If you (or your Brother in Law) has their own business than yes you can open a SEP-401K. Your average Joe who works for Brand X making widgets cannot open up his/her personal 401.

vagabond

Duck, I've been a lawyer for a long time and I've helped more clients than you have flight students with their tax and investment questions. A person cannot contribute to a 401(k) that he himself sets up. I think you may be referring to the Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA. It is for self-employed individuals.

RedeyeAV8r, nice post. I think I'm in love.

RedeyeAV8r

Toilet Duck I know the difference between an IRA and 401.

You cannot open an 401K for yourself .....Unless you have your own business. If you have your own business than you can open what is called a
"SEP-401k" which is similar to what is called a SEP-IRA.
The maximum deposit limits are higher than a regular IRA or Roth IRA per IRS codes.

If you (or your Brother in Law) has their own business than yes you can open a SEP-401K. Your average Joe who works for Brand X making widgets cannot open up his/her personal 401.

vagabond

Oooh, Redeye, we think alike!