Contributing to both the Roth IRA and 401(k)

[prohornblower]

Let's assume you are eligible for a Roth IRA and you are in your mid-20's. Say you have a 3% employer match on your 401(k), so you of course contribute 3% to your 401(k), then you max. out the Roth IRA for the year which is $4k...now you go back to contribute more to the 401(k), say you max it out at $15K for a total year retirement contribution to $19K.

Say you do this two years in a row and now have (negating earnings) $8K in the roth and $30k in the 401(k).

You leave your job, and roll your 401(k) to a rollover IRA, then convert it to a Roth (and pay taxes on the $30K).

You know have effectively contributed $38K to your Roth IRA in just two years, which is almost 5 times the "allowable" amount in that same time period.

Isn't doing this like pretty much the best possible thing a really young person with capital could do in terms of retirement investing? Assuming he has the money to pay taxes on 30k? You are basically adding 15K/year through a side-door, but totally legally.

Am I missing something here? This seems like a really good idea.