457 Roth vs Pre-Tax

Compare Roth 457(b) (after-tax, tax-free withdrawals) to traditional pre-tax 457(b) (pre-tax, taxed at withdrawal).

Annual contribution ($)

Expected annual return (%)

Years until retirement

Current marginal tax rate (%)

Retirement marginal tax rate (%)

Roth 457 — net after tax

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Pre-tax 457 — net after tax

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Break-even retirement tax rate

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Advantage

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If you expect your tax rate to be lower in retirement, pre-tax wins. If higher, Roth wins. Roth also avoids RMDs after rollover to a Roth IRA.