How valuable are pension contributions?

Not much value.

- Invest what you have to by law, obviously
- Take the employer match
- But beyond that, save in your taxable account, not pension
- And oversave there, intentionally underfunding your pension

Why?

1. You don't have access to it.

If you ever need the money for emergencies, or a big purchase like a business/real estate investment/house, then you can't access it without a penalty.

So it's not yours

You should only accept it if you are getting free money from employer

2. You have to wait until full retirement age to get the benefit of it.

That means decades before you can withdraw it without a penalty.

That effectively means that you are delaying your full enjoyment of your money until you're 65, rather than...now

3. It's not flexible.

The rules usually don't let you invest in various areas, such as property, operating businesses, or even funds that aren't offered on the platform.

This means you're not diversified properly, nor are you able to invest in fun things

4. Tax bracket.

If you're rich or assume that you'll be rich, then you'll be in the highest tax bracket, which means...you aren't getting a benefit there.

5. When to invest a tax-deferred retirement account?

When you are close to retirement age, and can overfund your pension in a tax-efficient way

In the US, you can put in up to 40k to your pension per year via a small business.

Do this in the 2-3 years before retirement