BDR
Blonder Tongue Laboratories Inc
stock NYSEAMERICAN

>but BDR makes no sense for me because I have a bunch of money in an IRA from my younger days. I don’t want to pay pro rata taxes
Your plan doesn't accept rollovers?

Yeah, so that’s not *general* advice. Most people don’t earn over the Roth limit.
But if you do - your options may include BDR, MBDR, Roth 401(k) or just going straight to the taxable.
I personally skip any Roth at all. I’ve got old Roth from when I was younger, but BDR makes no sense for me because I have a bunch of money in an IRA from my younger days. I don’t want to pay pro rata taxes. I don’t want to do Roth 401(k) because I am pretty certain I’ll be in a lower tax bracket when I withdraw. I’d rather defer the taxes. I don’t do MBDR because I have a sweet deal with my company where they match me all the way up to $70,000 and I am therefore not eligible for MBDR under IRS rules.
But again, none of this is like general advice. It’s niche stuff kind of like RSUs and ESPPs.

I once did this before realizing the BDR issues, and then was able to transfer back into a new 401k before it became an issue, and then BDR as needed since. So nominally this works.
But, I was given the impression that not every 401k allows roll-ins from IRAs for whatever reason. I haven’t had reason to go see if that’s a real concern or not as I just avoid the trad IRA entirely now, but worth looking into if there’s any reason a future 401k wouldn’t allow for a roll-in from an IRA.

>but BDR makes no sense for me because I have a bunch of money in an IRA from my younger days. I don’t want to pay pro rata taxes
Your plan doesn't accept rollovers?

Yeah, so that’s not *general* advice. Most people don’t earn over the Roth limit.
But if you do - your options may include BDR, MBDR, Roth 401(k) or just going straight to the taxable.
I personally skip any Roth at all. I’ve got old Roth from when I was younger, but BDR makes no sense for me because I have a bunch of money in an IRA from my younger days. I don’t want to pay pro rata taxes. I don’t want to do Roth 401(k) because I am pretty certain I’ll be in a lower tax bracket when I withdraw. I’d rather defer the taxes. I don’t do MBDR because I have a sweet deal with my company where they match me all the way up to $70,000 and I am therefore not eligible for MBDR under IRS rules.
But again, none of this is like general advice. It’s niche stuff kind of like RSUs and ESPPs.

I once did this before realizing the BDR issues, and then was able to transfer back into a new 401k before it became an issue, and then BDR as needed since. So nominally this works.
But, I was given the impression that not every 401k allows roll-ins from IRAs for whatever reason. I haven’t had reason to go see if that’s a real concern or not as I just avoid the trad IRA entirely now, but worth looking into if there’s any reason a future 401k wouldn’t allow for a roll-in from an IRA.