By Dr. Jim Dahle, WCI Founder

I get lots of questions from readers about whether they should take advantage of their Roth 401(k) (or 403(b)) option to save for retirement. They’re usually looking for an easy, straightforward answer. Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy.

I only have one rule of thumb, and it’s that residents (and military docs) should make Roth contributions and attendings should generally make traditional, tax-advantaged contributions. But there are plenty of exceptions to that rule. Others have touched on this question before—notably The Finance Buff in perhaps his best-ever column who made The Case Against the Roth 401(k) and the Bogleheads in their Wiki Page on Traditional vs. Roth.

Here, I’ll try to outline what high-income professionals like doctors ought to consider in the Roth vs. Traditional 401(k) decision.

General Guidelines for Evaluating Roth or Traditional 401(k) Contributions: If you’re a

Keep reading this article on The White Coat Investor.