Simple IRA Question

[GardenBaker]

I have a Simple IRA with Edward Jones through my employer.  My employer offers a 3% match. I have a taxable account and a Roth IRA with Vanguard. As we all know EJ is terrible with fees, but it is the only option my employer offers. Should I max my Simple IRA every year or just contribute enough to get the match and funnel the rest into my taxable account? The Roth IRA is maxed every year.

[GardenBaker]

I assume another option is to max out the Simple IRA at EJ and transfer to a traditional IRA at Vanguard after 2 years. Is it worth it given the EJ fees?

[405programmer]

It would absolutely be worth the tax advantaged space to max the Simple IRA and then transfer to Vanguard when you can in the future. Also maybe ask around about setting up a separate provider. If it's a smaller company and you don't mind doing the legwork of working with the payroll company you could probably set up an account in Vanguard for your Simple IRA. Creating the Simple IRA is trivial as it's only one form that you and someone from the company sign and send to vanguard. Automatically sending the payments from the payroll company is the trickier part.

Don't pass up your other tax advantaged space though just to max the Simple IRA. Your own IRA is still a better deal but thankfully you can (probably) do both! Just double check your projected MAGI and the corresponding limits to a Roth or Traditional IRA.