I will look into the 457 options. My understanding was I could take that out before 59.5. Other than that I really don't know much differences between the 401 and 457 options.
My question is in reference to fees. What should I look for in a 457 / 401 offering from my employer before I take the plunge? In other words would there be any scenario where a offering / product could be so bad it would be better off investing in a taxable product (such as betterment) instead? Remember I have no match at my workplace for 401 / 457 accounts. Another thing my "mind" has always thought about is if I put it in a 401 / 457 and I needed it I would likely not have such easy access to it as I do in a taxable account, but I'm sure that's the wrong way to think about it.
And IDK why I have that much, just used to it I guess. But I could surely put it to work instead.
The right way to think about it is to look at your marginal tax bracket for the 1300*12 = $15,600 you're putting in Betterment. At a 70k AGI, that's about 25%. So:
If you put it in Betterment, you get $15,600 in post-tax dollars invested.
If you put $15,600 pre-tax into a 401k, you get $15,600 in pre-tax dollars invested
PLUS 25% of 15,600 (the tax savings) = $3,900 invested in betterment.
That's a free almost $4,000 per year.
Just look at the fees, etc. If your employer lets you invest in Vanguard - or you can choose from some of Vanguard's ETF offerings - you'll be just fine. But even a slightly higher fee (under half a percent, say) will be more than offset by the tax savings. If it really stinks, come up with a strategy for rolling it over into some other tax-deferred account like an IRA, and contribute anyway. Gets a little more complicated but it's worth finding a way to take advantage of the tax deferral.
Free $4k. There should be a big sign hanging from it in your employer's office that says "PICK ME! PICK ME! FREE MONEY EVEN WITHOUT MATCH" :)
(FWIW, I don't get a match either -- my employer does a straight %age of salary contribution no matter what I do -- and I max my 401.)