Question on 401K's w/BB&T vs. Others

[E92er]

Hey everyone!
I'm a very recently graduated fellow about to start my first attending job. The hospital system I signed with offers a 401k w/match and I'm planning on starting w/6% contribution which will get me a 3.5% match from them. I figure it's a good start and plan to increase it over the next few years.

My question is this: They use BB&T for their 401k retirement plan. Does that mean I HAVE to use BB&T or is it possible for me to use a different company for my retirement accounts? I have nothing against BB&T but have seen my family using Fidelity and was wondering if I could too...

Still working on learning all this finance stuff! Just finished "Physicians Guide to Personal Finance" and ordered "The White Coat Investor." Still have 5 weeks before I start so plenty of time to teach myself as much as possible!

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[Wealth Anatomy]

E29er, with a 401(k) you will have to use the funds offered by the plan. If Fidelity is not offered, you will not be able to use them inside of your 401(k).

That is one of the reasons I suggest you contribute up to the match (like you mentioned you were doing) and then make any additional investment contributions to a set of low-cost funds of your choosing.

Well done on getting read up on two great books!

 

[krl7044]

Set up a Roth IRA for yourself at Vanguard and contribute $5500 a year. Do you have a list of investments available inside your 401k plan? I'm curious, because banks are not known for being generous with low cost investments. This can help you decide whether you want to invest beyond the match inside your plan. You can invest after-tax as well, and if your tax bracket is rather low, it might make sense to do that.

 

[E92er]

Thanks for the replies guys! Answered my question! Unfortunately I'm not eligible for the Roth IRA as we make more than the allowed amount between my wife and I. I'll look more into Vanguard though. Will also look through the other retirement companies once I understand more about it!

 

[krl7044]

Thanks for the replies guys! Answered my question! Unfortunately I'm not eligible for the Roth IRA as we make more than the allowed amount between my wife and I. I'll look more into Vanguard though. Will also look through the other retirement companies once I understand more about it!

You can do a backdoor Roth for yourself and your wife. This is done by contributing to a traditional IRA and then doing the conversion to a Roth. You shouldn't have any other traditional IRAs around if you want to do this though.