“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”
– Helen Keller
Imagine a cruise ship. It is like a city on water, isn’t it? Despite being enormous, it seems easy to maneuver as long as it is moving in a straight line. When you need to change direction, however, it takes time for the rudder to make the change. I don’t want to get too descriptive and lose sight of the point, which is that the ship will not turn right or left quickly. Changing the course requires a small
action that will result in a big change.
This leads perfectly into a real-life example I want to share with you, but let’s first lay some groundwork. In order to retire at some point in our lives, we need to be responsible enough to save money. Years ago, companies may have provided more help to their employees with pensions, but currently, we are finding that the responsibility is on us and perhaps our employers will offer us opportunities to invest using salary deferrals. The company you work for may provide different options for your plan to help you get ahead even faster, but it gets to decide whether or not to include these extras, which often cost it more money.
One of the options many of us will recognize is a company match. This is what we often refer to as “free money” provided we meet the requirements. The company may ask us to defer a certain percentage of our salaries in order to receive some or all of the match. This is a great option and one I hope everyone takes advantage of today.
What I want to shed light on is having a ROTH in your 401k as an option to salary-defer. This will provide tax-free growth on the funds invested in the ROTH. Not every company offers this option, which still surprises me. The benefits of having the ROTH in your retirement plan are certainly worth requesting it when it is not a current option. This is where my story truly gets into gear. I met with a client a year or so ago, and while we were reviewing her company retirement plan, I suggested that she salary-defer into the ROTH portion where she could create another tax bucket – a move you might call diversifying your tax strategy. When we went to select the ROTH, it wasn’t there. I didn’t expect this option to be absent because her employer is a major company here in West Michigan, and it was using a very familiar custodian that I knew offered the option on the platform. This basically came down to the company needing to choose the option for its employees and adding it to their retirement plans.
Let’s summon back up that ship image. I had just had a conversation with my daughter about her employer and not being able to make changes quickly. As I told her, it only takes a small adjustment to the rudder to change significantly the ship’s direction. Change CAN happen, but we may have to be persistent during the process, even patient. Sometimes, we think that one person cannot trigger
a change when we are up against such a big company, but in this instance, one person DID make a difference.
My client was intrigued by the ROTH option and also surprised that it wasn’t offered. She asked great questions and took notes. The next thing she said was that they were going into a new contract the following year and she was on the team. Lo and behold, she brought it into the contracting process. I know it took many months, and there were several items on the table to consider, discuss, and approve.
In the end, her employer was able to introduce the ROTH into the company retirement plan as of January 01, 2024. This client is a true champion in my eyes. It went from our one-on-one financial review to her fact-finding mission followed by her fighting for her union employees to get it all done. This process took two years from start to finish, but she was persistent and patient, passionately serving those who put her in a position to fight for them.
This huge ship took time to make the turn, but ultimately, it was worth every bit of effort, perseverance, and faith. A single person made a difference, and now hundreds can reap the benefits of change.
I am thrilled to have been a small part of this process and to have witnessed my client become a true champion of change.
– SHARI HOOPER, CSA®, BFA™
Senior Wealth Advisor
