🔥 Salvage & Overhaul

Protect what you've already built, and make sure nothing's smoldering in the plan that could cost you later.

Tax-Advantaged Account
457(b)
2026 contribution limit: $24,500/yr
⚠️ Real advantage: once you separate from service, a governmental 457(b) has no early-withdrawal penalty at any age — unlike a 401(k) or IRA.
0%
of goal, funded today
Required monthly
$0
to reach goal on time
Target
$
Years to target
Currently in the account
$
Assumed growth
~5%Cons.
~7%Mod.
~10%Aggr.
Tax-Free Retirement Account
Roth IRA
2026 contribution limit: $7,500/yr
⚠️ Real advantage: qualified withdrawals in retirement are entirely tax-free — unlike a 457(b) or traditional account, which is taxed as ordinary income. Contributions (not earnings) can also be withdrawn anytime, penalty-free.
0%
of goal, funded today
Required monthly
$0
to reach goal on time
Target
$
Years to target
Currently in the account
$
Assumed growth
~5%Cons.
~7%Mod.
~10%Aggr.

Not everyone has one of these — skip it if it doesn't apply. Roth IRAs also have income-based eligibility limits (phased out above $153k single / $242k joint MAGI for 2026) that aren't checked here, since income isn't collected anywhere on this page.

Education, not a recommendation
How the "backdoor Roth" actually works

General mechanics of a real, IRS-sanctioned strategy — not a suggestion to do this with any specific amount. Confirm your own situation with a tax professional before acting.

01Direct Roth IRA contributions phase out above certain income (2026: $153k single / $242k joint MAGI). Roth conversions, unlike contributions, have no income limit at all — that gap is the "backdoor."
02Step 1: contribute to a Traditional IRA as a non-deductible contribution (you don't take a tax deduction for it). Report this on IRS Form 8606 every year you do it — that form is what proves to the IRS this money was already taxed.
03Step 2: convert that Traditional IRA balance to a Roth IRA, typically soon after contributing, before it has much time to grow. You only owe tax on any growth between contributing and converting — often close to zero if done quickly.
04The real catch: if you already hold other pre-tax Traditional IRA money (old 401(k) rollovers, deductible contributions from past years), the IRS's "pro-rata rule" treats all your Traditional IRA balances as one combined pool. You can't cherry-pick just the non-deductible slice tax-free — a proportional part of any conversion becomes taxable. This is the single most common way this strategy goes wrong, and it's exactly the kind of thing worth a real conversation with a tax professional before doing.
05Why it matters for RMDs later: Traditional accounts (including the 457(b) modeled above) require withdrawals starting at age 73 or 75, whether you need the money or not. Roth IRAs never require withdrawals during your lifetime — money that ends up there through this process stops being subject to that rule entirely.
Taxable Investment Account
Brokerage
No legal ceiling — takes whatever you give it
0%
of goal, funded today
Required monthly
$0
to reach goal on time
Target
$
Years to target
Currently in the account
$
Assumed growth
~5%Cons.
~7%Mod.
~10%Aggr.
Monthly savings summary — total across all accounts
$0/mo

Debrief

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This is a planning estimate, not financial or tax advice. It assumes a constant annual return every year, which real markets never actually deliver — a stretch of losses partway through would require higher contributions than shown here to stay on track. The 457(b) limit reflects the standard 2026 IRS elective deferral limits by age; it doesn't include the separate 3-year pre-retirement catch-up provision, which depends on your plan's rules and your prior years' contribution history, or employer contributions counting toward that limit. Roth IRA eligibility also has income-based phase-out limits (for 2026: phased out above $153,000 single / $242,000 married filing jointly MAGI) that aren't checked here, since income isn't collected anywhere on this page. If you arrived here from the pension calculator, the target amount shown is based on the 4% safe-withdrawal-rate rule of thumb, a common planning estimate, not a guarantee. It also doesn't account for taxes on brokerage growth or inflation eroding your goal's real purchasing power. These are broad historical category averages (e.g., the S&P 500's long-run average is about 10% nominal, ~7% after inflation), never a recommendation of any specific fund, stock, or investment product. Past performance never guarantees future returns — that decision, and its risks, are yours to make, ideally with a qualified advisor.