After-Tax 401(k) Contributions: A Guide for How They Work

After-tax 401(k) contributions can be a smart way for high earners to grow their retirement investments.

Updated Jun 27, 2024 · 3 min read Written by Elizabeth Ayoola

Elizabeth Ayoola
Writer | Retirement, credit, wellness

Elizabeth Ayoola is a NerdWallet personal finance writer and small business owner. She graduated from King's College London with a master's in environment, politics and globalization, and she has over 10 years of writing experience. Her journey to finance writing started with a goal to learn as much as she could about how to attain financial freedom and share information with others about how to do it, too. This led her to Debt.com, where she covered topics relating to mortgages, debt and credit. Her articles have appeared on platforms like The Associated Press, The Washington Post, Essence, The Knot, MSN, Parents.com, Yahoo and PopSugar.

Reviewed by Raquel Tennant Certified Financial Planner®

Raquel Tennant
Certified Financial Planner® | financial planning, wealth management, high net worth, underserved communities, retirement planning

Raquel Tennant, CFP®, is a financial guide at Fruitful, a financial wellness platform providing members with unlimited financial advice and access to financial planning to the masses at a low cost. Tennant began her career in the fee-only RIA firm space, serving ultra high-net worth clients and is now proud to align her passion for helping younger, diverse and underserved clients, who often feel neglected by traditional firms. A graduate of Towson University, Tennant is one of the first 12 inaugural graduates of Towson's CFP Board Registered Financial Planning major and the first of her class to pass the CFP exam. She proudly collaborates with her alma mater as a writer and guest speaker to students, faculty and staff, bringing awareness to both the financial planning major and the RIA financial planning industry. She has been featured on 2050 TrailBlazer’s podcast episode “The Power of Partnership”, CFP Board’s "Stay on Your Path" video, and Towson’s College of Business & Economics “Finding the Right Fit” news feature. Tennant is also a CFP Board professional mentor.

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Assigning Editor

Pamela de la Fuente
Assigning Editor | Consumer Credit, Taxes, Retirement, Underrepresented communities, Debt

Pamela de la Fuente leads NerdWallet's consumer credit and debt team. Previously, she led taxes and retirement coverage at NerdWallet. She has been a writer and editor for more than 20 years.

Pamela joined NerdWallet after working at companies including Hallmark Cards, Sprint Corp. and The Kansas City Star.

She is a thought leader in content diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and finds ways to make every piece of content conversational and accessible to all.

She is a graduate of the Maynard Institute's Maynard 200 program, and was a presenter at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in 2023. She is a two-time winner of the Kansas City Association of Black Journalists' President's Award. She is also a founding co-chair of NerdWallet's Nerds of Color employee resource group.

Pamela is a firm believer in financial education and closing the generational wealth gap . She got into journalism to tell the kind of stories that change the world, in big and small ways. In her work at NerdWallet, she aims to do just that.