re: 401k vs Roth 401k

I get the thought of this. Some people at work chose this option.
However my argument is I know many people who pull 3-4K per month once retired. Which if everything is paid for, is plenty. Especially if you’re getting social security as well.
That would be substantially lower tax bracket most likely for many.
Not to mention Trump just made ss not taxable did he not?
To me I rather not pay taxes now. Interested to hear your side.

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Not to mention Trump just made ss not taxable did he not?

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I could be wrong, but I don't think this is accurate.

From Grok:

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The "One Big Beautiful Bill" (signed July 2025) introduced a temporary additional $6,000 deduction for taxpayers age 65+ (2025–2028 tax years). This reduces taxable income, effectively eliminating federal tax on SS benefits for many seniors (estimates range from 88% per White House analysis to fewer per independent experts, as it doesn't directly exempt benefits). However, it does not change the underlying taxation rules—benefits remain potentially taxable up to 85%, and the deduction is temporary with phase-outs for higher incomes.No law has made SS benefits fully tax-free or fully taxable (100%).

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8% is a big difference.

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It’s a month per year.

(Agreeing with you)

Conceptually, it would be a safe bet that the future tax rates will be higher than they are at present so I’d suggest taking advantage of the Roth.

^Not legal/tax advice, your scenario may differ. Consult a professional for advice.

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Typically Roth is last thing you want to tap. Best left to grow tax free. Plus, better to draw down traditional first before SS stacked on top and taxed and before higher taxable income triggers IRMAA. May be a case for Roth first for ACA subsidies and zero LTCG rate etc but often not the optimal solution. As others have said having some of both gives you options to optimize tax strategies later but may not be worth paying high rate now.

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Good advice.

You are receiving down votes because you seem to treat funding 401/Roth as unimportant. I agree with you that real estate can be lucrative.

Real estate is not for everyone. It also varies greatly by area. I have tried it in 3 different areas of Louisiana and Arkansas. The profits varied greatly in those areas. Costs were similar but sell prices vary based on the growth rate of each community. Real estate in a growth area is a great way to make money. It appears your experience is in rentals. Don't know if you have tried it, but new construction is a great way to invest in real estate.

I encourage anyone in the OPs financial situation to consider real estate, but it is not the slam dunk that one could infer from your comments.

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Total income of ~$129k/yr (more than enough for us to live well)

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Got it. I can't imagine living on that amount in 20+ years.

Are you accounting for SSI and RMDs? I'd be concerned about the RMDs forcing you to withdraw more money than you actually need, driving up your tax liability.

RMDs dont start until 75 (earlier for those born before 1960).
Brackets are likely to increase w/ inflation. (especially lowest brackets) Even today you'd have to exceed $394k plus deductions (married joint) before next dollar is taxed at 32%. So, even if in 32% bracket, effective tax rate of withdrawals would likely be much lower.

With RMDs delayed until 75, that gives early and even regular retirees a lengthy window for Roth conversions if desired.

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Hire a property management company and you don’t have to deal with anything and most importantly your time is not wasted.

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This is what we do and it's awesome. I can even recommend a couple of property managers in the Baton Rouge area.

The asterisk on some of the other posters comments is that it is never as simple as "invest in real estate". It needs to meet your specific goals, and I'd argue that a person in their 30s or 40s needs to consider growth markets still over a pure income play. I've turned down a couple of damn good deals because they didn't meet my specific goals or because the risk of that specific property was high or the inputs that reflected my expectations of growth for a specific property threw off the IRR formula.

That said - real estate is a very good option, but it takes some homework and you have to find the right people and the right individual property. It's still a lot of legwork unless you have someone that lives and breathes real estate in your close circle.

I have a very healthy amount in traditional, so I decided that I’m going 100% Roth for at least a few years. I like the idea of having a pool of tax free money in retirement, even if it costs a little bit more overall. I could use it for large expenses, especially unexpected large expenses, and not worry about the tax implications.

I also think it’s likely that I will carry a mortgage and continue working in “retirement”, so my income might be higher than normal.