So this is one of those "too much of a good thing" situations. I currently work for a university that offers:
401(a) - they put in 11.5% of my salary, I am mandated to put in 10%.
403(b) - I can put in $18,000 here
457 - I can put in $18,000 here
IRA/RothIRA - I can put in $11,000 here (me + DH)
Now, my salary isn't high enough to allow us to do all this (and still live on it, DH doesn't have a job, yet). So right now I'm doing the 401(a) (because, mandatory), the 403(b) (but not able to max it), and the IRA (for this year only, DH had a job the first part of the year and want to stay in 15% tax bracket).
My question is, assuming nothing changes in DH salary for next year (much, he does do some SE things, less than $1k per month), what should I do? We have $11k saved for a Roth/IRA already to be put in immediately. But, should I switch to saving some in a 457 as well as a 403(b)? Or should I max out the 403(b) or 457 and not put anything in the (R)IRA?
Other thoughts... DH might also get a university job, which would then allow him the same options, does that change anything?
Finally, it's insane that if two people are working at the University, they can defer SO much! Together, between the accounts, we could defer around $100,000 (salary dependent), PLUS University match PLUS FSA PLUS medical insurance and parking come out before taxes. If I understand that right, we could make over 6 figures and get a tax refund. Wow.