457 Roth?

[LibStache]

Hi friends,
Husband has a new teaching job which offers a 457 account to employees. I assumed we could choose pre-tax contributions for this account but they are Roth only. Is that typical? If so, would it not make sense to prioritize pre-tax 401k contributions instead for the tax benefits?  I’m very new to 457, so forgive me for my ignorance. Thanks!

[charis]

A 457 is a deferred compensation account (to my knowledge), so it seems odd that a Roth is the only option.  But there's not enough info to answer the tax question.  My spouse maxes both a tax deferred 401k and 457.  If we only had a Roth 457 option, I think we'd still max it.

[FLBiker]

I didn't have a Roth option with my 457, so I can't speak to that, but another thing I wanted to highlight is that there are pretty big differences between governmental and non-governmental 457s.  Mine was governmental, but based on what I've read I'd be less enthusiastic about putting money in a non-governmental one.  They're not necessarily bad, but I'd want to make sure I fully understood the risks before I contributed.

[seattlecyclone]

That's the first Roth-only 457 I've heard of. If your projections lead you to believe that your tax rate will be lower in retirement, then prioritizing pre-tax contributions to another account would make sense. Once you've filled those up, extra Roth space is valuable too.