How will signing up for a 401(k)/403(b) plan affect my take-home pay?
Contributing “pre-tax” money to your employer’s qualified retirement plan reduces your current taxable income by the amount of salary you defer under the plan. Therefore, you are able to invest more than you otherwise would if you put your money into a comparable after-tax investment. For example, one hundred dollars ($100) invested pretax would “cost” you the same as $72 invested after tax (assuming you are in the 28% tax bracket).
