What Is an American Depositary Share (ADS)?

An American depositary share (ADS) is an equity share of a non-U.S. company that is held by a U.S. depositary bank and is available for purchase by U.S. investors.

The entire issuance of shares by a foreign company is called an American Depositary Receipt (ADR), while the individual shares are referred to as ADSs. But the terms American Depositary Shares and American Depositary Receipts are often used interchangeably.

Key Takeaways

• American Depositary Shares (ADS) refer to shares in foreign companies that are held by U.S. depositary banks and can be traded in the U.S., including on major exchanges.
• The terms American Depositary Shares and American Depositary Receipts are often used interchangeably.
• ADSs allow foreign companies access to a wider investor base and the world’s most sophisticated financial marketplace.
• The main drawback of ADSs for investors is that there is still some currency risk, even though they are denominated in U.S. dollars.

Understanding American Depositary Shares

An ADR is a negotiable certificate issued by a U.S. bank, under agreement with the foreign company, and is evidence of ownership of ADSs, much the same way a stock certificate denotes ownership of equity shares.

ADSs are meant to facilitate trading of the shares. They can trade over-the-counter (OTC) or on a major exchange such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the Nasdaq (Nasdaq), depending on how much the foreign company is willing to comply with U.S. regulations. Listing on a major exchange generally requires the same level of reporting as that done by domestic companies, as well as adherence to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

The Benefits of ADSs

Foreign companies that choose to offer shares on U.S. exchanges gain the advantage of a wider investor base, which can also lower costs of future capital. For U.S. investors, ADSs offer the opportunity to invest in foreign companies without dealing with currency conversions and other cross-border administrative hoops.

The Downside of ADSs

There is some currency risk involved in holding ADSs. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the foreign currency will have some effect on the price of shares as well as on any income payments, which must be converted into U.S. dollars.

Tax treatment of dividends from ADSs is also different. Most countries apply a withholding amount on dividends issued for ADRs. This withholding amount can vary. For example, Chile and Switzerland withhold 35% while France can withhold as much as 75% of the tax on dividends, in the case of non-cooperative countries within the EU. The withholding tax is in addition to the dividend tax already levied by U.S. authorities. The dividend tax can be avoided by ADR investors by filling out Form 1116 for foreign tax credit.

Real World Examples of ADSs

A single ADS often represents more than one share of common stock. Further, ADSs can “gap” up or down outside of U.S. trading hours, when trading is happening in the company’s home country and U.S. markets are closed.

For example, South Korea’s Woori Bank, a subsidiary of Woori Financial Group, has ADSs that are traded in the U.S. The bank’s ADS gapped up by $0.03 on July 20, 2016. A technical analysis of the price action on this ADS shows that for the past decade, its price continued higher two-thirds of the time after a gap up.

What Is a 401(k) Plan?

A 401(k) plan is a retirement savings plan offered by many American employers that has tax advantages for the saver. It is named after a section of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (IRC).

The employee who signs up for a 401(k) agrees to have a percentage of each paycheck paid directly into an investment account. The employer may match part or all of that contribution. The employee gets to choose among a number of investment options, usually mutual funds.

How 401(k) Plans Work

The 401(k) plan was designed by the United States Congress to encourage Americans to save for retirement. Among the benefits they offer is tax savings.

There are two main options, each with distinct tax advantages.

Traditional 401(k)

With a traditional 401(k), employee contributions are deducted from gross income. This means the money comes from your paycheck before income taxes have been deducted. As a result, your taxable income is reduced by the total amount of contributions for the year and can be reported as a tax deduction for that tax year. No taxes are due on either the money contributed or the investment earnings until you withdraw the money, usually in retirement.

Roth 401(k)

With a Roth 401(k), contributions are deducted from your after-tax income. This means contributions come from your pay after income taxes have been deducted. As a result, there is no tax deduction in the year of the contribution. When you withdraw the money during retirement, though, you don’t have to pay any additional taxes on your contribution or on the investment earnings.

However, not all employers offer the option of a Roth account. If the Roth is offered, you can choose between a traditional and Roth 401(k). Or you can contribute to both up to the annual contribution limit.

Contributing to a 401(k) Plan

A 401(k) is a defined contribution plan. The employee and employer can make contributions to the account up to the dollar limits set by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

A defined contribution plan is an alternative to the traditional pension, known as a defined-benefit plan. With a pension, the employer is committed to providing a specific amount of money to the employee for life during retirement.

In recent decades, 401(k) plans have become more common, and traditional pensions have become rare as employers have shifted the responsibility and risk of saving for retirement to their employees.

Employees also are responsible for choosing the specific investments within their 401(k) accounts from a selection that their employer offers. Those offerings typically include an assortment of stock and bond mutual funds and target-date funds designed to reduce the risk of investment losses as the employee approaches retirement.

They may also include guaranteed investment contracts (GICs) issued by insurance companies and sometimes the employer’s own stock.

Contribution Limits

The maximum amount that an employee or employer can contribute to a 401(k) plan is adjusted periodically to account for inflation, which is a metric that measures rising prices in an economy.

For 2022, the annual limit on employee contributions was $20,500 per year for workers under age 50. However, those aged 50 and over could make a $6,500 catch-up contribution.

For 2023, the annual limit on employee contributions is $22,500 per year for workers under age 50. If you are age 50 or over, you can make an additional $7,500 catch-up contribution.

If your employer also contributes or if you elect to make additional, non-deductible after-tax contributions to your traditional 401(k) account, there is a total employee-and-employer contribution amount for the year:

2022

• For workers under 50 years old, the total employee-employer contributions could not exceed $61,000 per year.
• If the catch-up contribution for those 50 and over was included, the limit was $67,500.

2023

• For workers under 50 years old, the total employee-employer contributions cannot exceed $66,000 per year.
• If the catch-up contribution for those 50 and over is included, the limit is $73,500.

Employer Matching

Employers who match employee contributions use various formulas to calculate that match.

For instance, an employer might match 50 cents for every dollar that the employee contributes, up to a certain percentage of salary.

Financial advisors often recommend that employees contribute at least enough money to their 401(k) plans to get the full employer match.

Contributing to Both a Traditional and a Roth 401(k)

If their employer offers both types of 401(k) plans, an employee can split their contributions, putting some money into a traditional 401(k) and some into a Roth 401(k).

However, their total contribution to the two types of accounts can’t exceed the limit for one account (such as $20,500 for those under age 50 in 2022 or $22,500 in 2023).

How Does a 401(k) Earn Money?

Your contributions to your 401(k) account are invested according to the choices you make from the selection your employer offers. As noted above, these options typically include an assortment of stock and bond mutual funds and target-date funds designed to reduce the risk of investment losses as you get closer to retirement.

How much you contribute each year, whether or not your company matches your contributions, your investments and their returns, plus the number of years you have until retirement all contribute to how quickly and how much your money will grow.

Provided you don’t remove funds from your account, you don’t have to pay taxes on investment gains, interest, or dividends until you withdraw money from the account after retirement (unless you have a Roth 401(k), in which case you don’t have to pay taxes on qualified withdrawals when you retire).

What’s more, if you open a 401(k) when you are young, it has the potential to earn more money for you, thanks to the power of compounding. The benefit of compounding is that returns generated by savings can be reinvested back into the account and begin generating returns of their own.

Over a period of many years, the compounded earnings on your 401(k) account can actually be larger than the contributions you have made to the account. In this way, as you keep contributing to your 401(k), it has the potential to grow into a sizable chunk of money over time.

Taking Withdrawals From a 401(k)

Once money goes into a 401(k), it is difficult to withdraw it without paying taxes on the withdrawal amounts.

“Make sure that you still save enough on the outside for emergencies and expenses you may have before retirement,” says Dan Stewart, CFA®, president of Revere Asset Management Inc., in Dallas. “Do not put all of your savings into your 401(k) where you cannot easily access it, if necessary.”

The earnings in a 401(k) account are tax deferred in the case of traditional 401(k)s and tax free in the case of Roths. When the traditional 401(k) owner makes withdrawals, that money (which has never been taxed) will be taxed as ordinary income. Roth account owners have already paid income tax on the money they contributed to the plan and will owe no tax on their withdrawals as long as they satisfy certain requirements.

Both traditional and Roth 401(k) owners must be at least age 59½—or meet other criteria spelled out by the IRS, such as being totally and permanently disabled—when they start to make withdrawals to avoid a penalty.

This penalty is usually an additional 10% early distribution tax on top of any other tax they owe.

Some employers allow employees to take out a loan against their contributions to a 401(k) plan. The employee is essentially borrowing from themselves. If you take out a 401(k) loan and leave the job before the loan is repaid, you’ll have to repay it in a lump sum or face the 10% penalty for an early withdrawal.

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)

Traditional 401(k) account holders are subject to required minimum distributions (RMDs) after reaching a certain age. (Withdrawals are often referred to as distributions in IRS parlance.)

Beginning on January 1, 2023, account owners who have retired must start taking RMDs from their 401(k) plans starting at age 73. This size of the RMD is calculated is based on your life expectancy at the time. Prior to 2020, the RMD age was 70½ years old. Before 2023, the RMD age was 72. It was updated to age 73 in the omnibus spending bill H.R. 2617 in 2022.

Note that distributions from a traditional 401(k) are taxable. Qualified withdrawals from a Roth 401(k) are not.

Traditional 401(k) vs. Roth 401(k)

When 401(k) plans became available in 1978, companies and their employees had just one choice: the traditional 401(k). Then in 2006, Roth 401(k)s arrived. Roths are named for former U.S. Senator William Roth of Delaware, the primary sponsor of the 1997 legislation that made the Roth IRA possible.

While Roth 401(k)s were a little slow to catch on, many employers now offer them. So the first decision employees often have to make is choosing between a Roth and a traditional (401(k).

As a general rule, employees who expect to be in a lower marginal tax bracket after they retire might want to opt for a traditional 401(k) and take advantage of the immediate tax break.

On the other hand, employees who expect to be in a higher bracket after retiring might opt for the Roth so that they can avoid taxes on their savings later. Also important—especially if the Roth has years to grow—is that, since there is no tax on withdrawals, all the money that the contributions earn over decades of being in the account is tax free.

As a practical matter, the Roth reduces your immediate spending power more than a traditional 401(k) plan. That matters if your budget is tight.

Since no one can predict what tax rates will be decades from now, neither type of 401(k) is a sure thing. For that reason, many financial advisors suggest that people hedge their bets, putting some of their money into each.

When You Leave Your Job

When you leave a company where you’ve been employed and you have a 401(k) plan, you generally have four options:

1. Withdraw the Money

Withdrawing the money is usually a bad idea unless you urgently need the cash. The money will be taxable in the year it’s withdrawn. You will be hit with the additional 10% early distribution tax unless you are over 59½, permanently disabled, or meet the other IRS criteria for an exception to the rule.

In the case of a Roth 401(k), you can withdraw your contributions (but not any profits) tax free and without penalty at any time as long as you have had the account for at least five years. Remember, however, that you’re still diminishing your retirement savings, which you may regret later.

2. Roll Your 401(k) into an IRA

By moving the money into an IRA at a brokerage firm, a mutual fund company, or a bank, you can avoid immediate taxes and maintain the account’s tax-advantaged status. What’s more, you will be able to select from among a wider range of investment choices than with your employer’s plan.

The IRS has relatively strict rules on rollovers and how they need to be accomplished, and running afoul of them is costly. Typically, the financial institution that is in line to receive the money will be more than happy to help with the process and prevent any missteps.

3. Leave Your 401(k) With the Old Employer

In many cases, employers will permit a departing employee to keep a 401(k) account in their old plan indefinitely, though the employee can’t make any further contributions to it. This generally applies to accounts worth at least $5,000. In the case of smaller accounts, the employer may give the employee no choice but to move the money elsewhere.

Leaving 401(k) money where it is can make sense if the old employer’s plan is well managed and you are satisfied with the investment choices it offers. The danger is that employees who change jobs over the course of their careers can leave a trail of old 401(k) plans and may forget about one or more of them. Their heirs might also be unaware of the existence of the accounts.

4. Move Your 401(k) to a New Employer

You can usually move your 401(k) balance to your new employer’s plan. As with an IRA rollover, this maintains the account’s tax-deferred status and avoids immediate taxes.

It could be a wise move if you aren’t comfortable with making the investment decisions involved in managing a rollover IRA and would rather leave some of that work to the new plan’s administrator.

The Bottom Line

A 401(k) plan is a workplace retirement plan that lets you make annual contributions up to a certain limit and invest that money for the benefit of your later years once your working days are done.

401(k) plans come in two types: a traditional or Roth. The traditional 401(k) involves pre-tax contributions that give you a tax break when you make them and reduce your taxable income. However, you pay ordinary income tax on your withdrawals. The Roth 401(k) involves after-tax contributions and no upfront tax break, but you’ll pay no taxes on your withdrawals in retirement. Both accounts allow employer contributions that can increase your savings.

What Is a 457 Plan?

A 457 plan is a tax-advantaged retirement savings plan offered to employees of many state and local governments and some nonprofit organizations. Like the better-known 401(k) plan in the private sector, the 457 plan allows employees to deposit a portion of their pre-tax earnings in an account, reducing their income taxes for the year while postponing the taxes due until the money is withdrawn after they retire.

A Roth version of the 457 plan, which allows after-tax contributions, may be allowed at the employer’s discretion.

There are two main types of 457 plans:

• The 457(b): This is the most common 457 plan and is offered to state and local government employees and nonprofits. It is a retirement savings plan that offers tax advantages to participants.
• The 457(f): This plan is offered only to highly compensated executives in tax-exempt organizations. It is a supplement to the 457(b) and it is, essentially, a deferred salary plan.

Key Takeaways

• The 457 plan is an IRS-sanctioned, tax-advantaged employee retirement plan.
• The plan is offered only to public service employees and employees at tax-exempt organizations.
• Participants are allowed to contribute up to 100% of their salaries up to a dollar limit for the year.
• The interest and earnings in the account are not taxed until the funds are withdrawn. The exception is the Roth option, if available, in which only post-tax money is deposited.

Watch Now: What Is a 457 Plan?

Types of 457 Plans

As noted, the 457 plan comes in two flavors, the 457(b) and the 457(f).

The 457(b) Plan

The 457(b) plan is most often offered to civil servants, police personnel, and other employees of government agencies, public services, and nonprofit organizations such as hospitals, churches, and charitable organizations.

It is similar to a 401(k). Participants set aside a percentage of their salary into a retirement account. The employees choose how their money is invested from a list of options, mostly mutual funds and annuities.

The account grows in value without being taxed over the years. When the employee retires, taxes will be due on the amount withdrawn.

Employees are allowed to contribute up to 100% of their salary, provided it does not exceed the dollar limit set for the year.

If the 457 plan does not meet statutory requirements, the assets may be subject to different rules.

457(b) Contribution Limits

As of 2022, employees can contribute up to $20,500 per year to 457 plans. This limit increases to $22,500 for 2023.

In some cases, workers are allowed to contribute even more. For example, if an employer permits catch-up contributions, workers over the age of 50 may pay in an additional $6,500 a year, making their maximum contribution limit $27,000 ($20,500 + $6,500) in 2022. The catch-up contribution increases to $7,500 for tax year 2023, making the maximum contribution limit $30,000 ($22,500 + $7,500).

Also, 457(b) plans feature a “double limit catch-up” provision. This is designed to allow participants who are nearing retirement to compensate for years in which they did not contribute to the plan but were eligible to do so.

In this case, employees who are within three years of retirement age may contribute up to $41,000 in 2022 and up to $45,000 in 2023. 

Advantages and Disadvantages of a 457(b) Plan

The 457(b) plan has all of the advantages of a 401(k), although there are some differences.

Advantages of a 457(b)

Tax Benefits

If a traditional rather than a Roth plan is chosen, the contributions are deducted from an employee’s paycheck on a pre-tax basis. That amount is subtracted from the employee’s gross income, effectively lowering the person’s taxes paid for that year. For example, if Alex earns $4,000 per month and contributes $700 to a 457(b) plan, Alex’s taxable income for the month is $3,300.

Employees invest their contributions in their choice or choices from a selection of annuities and mutual funds.

All interest and earnings generated from year to year remain untaxed until the funds are withdrawn.

Withdrawals Without Penalty

There is one big difference between the 457(b) and other tax-advantaged retirement plans: no penalty for early withdrawals in some circumstances.

If an employee retires early or resigns from the job for any reason, the funds can be withdrawn without incurring a 10% penalty from the IRS. Early withdrawals from most retirement plans are subject to the penalty except for certain hardship reasons. (The penalty was waived for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.) 

A 457(b) account holder can take a penalty-free withdrawal without changing jobs, like a 401(k) account holder. The list of acceptable reasons, however, is limited to “unforeseeable emergencies.”

Exceptions to the Rules

Early withdrawals from a 457(b) are subject to the 10% penalty if the account holder rolls the funds over from a 457 to any other tax-advantaged retirement account, such as a 401(k). This would happen if, for example, a government employee quit to take a job in the private sector.

In addition, anyone who takes money out of a retirement account early must keep in mind that any income taxes due on that money will be owed in the year that the withdrawal is taken.

Disadvantages of a 457(b) Plan

One potential advantage of most tax-advantaged retirement savings plans is the employer match. An employer may choose to match some portion of an employee’s contribution to the plan. An employer who matches the first 3% of the employee’s contribution, for example, is presenting the employee with a 3% raise.

Employer Match Is Rare

Employers can match their employees’ contributions to a 457(b) but, in practice, most don’t.

If they do, the employer contribution counts toward the maximum contribution limit. This is not the case for 401(k) plans.

For instance, in 2022, if an employer contributes $10,000 to a 457(b) plan, the employee can add only $10,500 for the year until the $20,500 contribution limit is reached (except for those eligible to use the catch-up option).

457(b) Advantages

• Looser rules for early withdrawals without a penalty.

• Early distributions allowed for participants who leave a job.

• As with other retirement plans, no taxes are due until money is withdrawn.

457(b) Disadvantages

• Employer contributions count toward contribution limit the year they vest.

• Employer contributions subject to vesting schedule. If the employee quits, non-vested funds are forfeited.

• Limited investment choices compared to private sector plans.

457(b) vs. 403(b)

The 403(b) plan, like the 457(b), is mostly available to public service employees. They are a particularly common benefit offered to public school teachers.

The 403(b) has its origins in the 1950s when it exclusively offered an annuity to participants. Participants still have the option of creating an annuity but they also can choose to invest in mutual funds.

In fact, the 403(b) has changed over the years until it closely resembles the private sector’s 401(k) plan, although the investment choices offered to participants are relatively limited.

The annual contribution limits are identical to those of the 457(b) and 401(k) plans.

If you’re a public employee, your employer may well offer a 457(b) or a 403(b).

Advisor Insight

Dan Stewart, CFA®
Revere Asset Management, Dallas, TX

457 plans are taxed as income similar to a 401(k) or 403(b) when distributions are taken. The only difference is there are no withdrawal penalties and that they are the only plans without early withdrawal penalties. But you also have the option of rolling the assets in an IRA rollover. This way, you can better control distributions and only take them when needed.

So if you take the entire amount as a lump sum, the entire amount is added to your income and may push you into a higher tax bracket.

With the rollover route, you could take out a little this year, and so on as needed, thus controlling your taxes better. And while it remains inside the IRA, it continues to grow tax-deferred and is protected from creditors.

What Is the Difference Between a 457(b) Plan and a 457(f) Plan?

The 457(b) plan is a version of the 401(k) plan that is designed for public and nonprofit workers. It helps employees save for retirement while deferring the tax bill until they retire and start withdrawing the money. (The Roth version, which is available only at the employer’s discretion, takes the taxes upfront, so no taxes are usually due on withdrawals.)

The 457(f) plan is also known as a SERP for Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan. It is a retirement savings plan for only the highest-paid executives in the tax-exempt sector. They are mostly employed in hospitals, universities, and credit unions.

A 457(f) is a supplement to a 457(b). Employers make additional contributions to the employee’s account, beyond the usual limits. These are negotiated by contract and amount to a deferred salary adjustment.

If the executive resigns before an established vesting period, the 457(f) contribution disappears. The plan is intended as an executive retention strategy, commonly known as “golden handcuffs.”

Is a 457(b) Plan Better Than a 401(k) Plan?

For all intents and purposes, a 457(b) is just as good as a 401(k) plan. If you’re employer is a public agency or a nonprofit, it’s probably your best option for retirement savings.

Assuming you opt for a traditional plan rather than a Roth plan, you’ll be lowering your taxable income from year to year while plunking that money into a long-term investment account. The money won’t be taxed until you retire and start taking withdrawals.

(If it’s a Roth, you’ll pay the taxes up front and usually will owe no taxes on the money you deposited or the profits it earns over the years.)

On the downside, your contributions will probably not be matched by your employer. But that’s just reality in the nonprofit sector, not a rule of the plan.

How and When Can I Make Withdrawals From My 457(b) Account?

One advantage of a 457(b) is that you can take early withdrawals without paying a tax penalty for any “unforeseeable emergency.” This isn’t a good idea, since you’re plundering your retirement savings, but unforeseeable emergencies do happen. And, you’ll owe income tax for that year on the amount you withdraw.

The required minimum distribution (RMD) you must take is determined by an IRS worksheet. An RMD is a minimum amount that must be withdrawn from certain retirement plans, like a 457(b), each year once you reach a certain age. If you were born between 1951 and 1959, the age is 73. If you were born in 1960 or after, the age is 75. This is an increase from the previous age of 72.

What Is Accelerated Depreciation?

Accelerated depreciation is any method of depreciation used for accounting or income tax purposes that allows greater depreciation expenses in the early years of the life of an asset. Accelerated depreciation methods, such as double-declining balance (DDB), means there will be higher depreciation expenses in the first few years and lower expenses as the asset ages. This is unlike the straight-line depreciation method, which spreads the cost evenly over the life of an asset.

Key Takeaways

• Accelerated depreciation is any depreciation method that allows for the recognition of higher depreciation expenses during the earlier years. 
• The key accelerated depreciation methods include double-declining balance and sum of the years’ digits (SYD). 
• Accelerated depreciation is unlike the straight-line depreciation method, where the latter spreads the depreciation expenses evenly over the life of the asset.  
• Companies may use accelerated depreciation for tax purposes, as these methods result in a deferment of tax liabilities since income is lower in earlier periods.

Understanding Accelerated Depreciation

Accelerated depreciation methods tend to align the recognized rate of an asset’s depreciation with its actual use, although this isn’t technically required. This alignment tends to occur because an asset is most heavily used when it’s new, functional, and most efficient. 

Because this tends to occur at the beginning of the asset’s life, the rationale behind an accelerated method of depreciation is that it appropriately matches how the underlying asset is used. As an asset age, it is not used as heavily, since it is slowly phased out for newer assets.

Special Considerations

Using an accelerated depreciation method has financial reporting implications. Because depreciation is accelerated, expenses are higher in earlier periods compared to later periods. Companies may utilize this strategy for taxation purposes, as an accelerated depreciation method will result in a deferment of tax liabilities since income is lower in earlier periods.

Alternatively, public companies tend to shy away from accelerated depreciation methods, as net income is reduced in the short-term.

Types of Accelerated Depreciation Methods

Double-Declining Balance Method  

The double-declining balance (DDB) method is an accelerated depreciation method. After taking the reciprocal of the useful life of the asset and doubling it, this rate is applied to the depreciable base—also known as the book value, for the remainder of the asset’s expected life.

For example, an asset with a useful life of five years would have a reciprocal value of 1/5 or 20%. Double the rate, or 40%, is applied to the asset’s current book value for depreciation. Although the rate remains constant, the dollar value will decrease over time because the rate is multiplied by a smaller depreciable base each period.

Sum of the Years’ Digits (SYD)

The sum-of-the-years’-digits (SYD) method also allows for accelerated depreciation. To start, combine all the digits of the expected life of the asset. For example, an asset with a five-year life would have a base of the sum-of-the-digits one through five, or 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 15. 

In the first depreciation year, 5/15 of the depreciable base would be depreciated. In the second year, only 4/15 of the depreciable base would be depreciated. This continues until year five depreciates the remaining 1/15 of the base.