> [!infobox] <s class="aside-in"><em>mentioned in 1 evergreen</em></s> #### [[Investment is a balance of risk vs access]] Long-term accounts like [[401k]] and [[Roth IRA]] provide little risk but little access, while investment accounts provide easier access for more risk. The market has never been down over a 20 year period, and outside of 1998-2008 it has never been down over a ten year period. This means that as long as you are not within 10 years of retirement the money in your [[401k]] and [[Roth IRA]] are safe. These two accounts are both valuable to invest in but have slight differences The main benefits of a [[401k]] are the employer contribution, ^[Employer's will match a percentage of your contribution] it being a pre-tax contribution, and the large amount you can invest. ^[$20,500] There are also various legal protections for 401k's that don't apply to most people. The downside of a [[401k]] are that you will pay capital gains tax on the money you receive from the fund in retirement, and that the money in the fund is very hard to access. A [[Roth IRA]] is also a long term fund, but it's benefits are slightly different. Roth IRA's are contributed to post-tax, but you don't have to pay capital gains tax on the money you receive. The amount you can contribute is much less, ^[$6000] but the money is slightly more accessible > ![[10_Sources/articles - Roth IRA Withdrawal Rules Withdrawal From Roth IRA Charles Schwab#261781435q]] ### <hr class="footnote"/> **Status**:: #EVER/SAPLING *edited January 25, 2022* **Topics**:: [[finance]], [[economy]], [[investment]]