It's a few months away, January 2006 to be exact. But the Roth 401(k) should be coming to an employer sponsored retirement plan near you. Like the Roth IRA, named after late Sen. William Roth, the Roth 401(k) gains will be tax free. What's different from many current 401(k)s is that contributions will come only from the employee.

The Roth 401(k) be particularly attractive to many high income earners who currently exceed Roth IRA income limits.

If your employer hasn't mentioned anything yet you may want to check in to see if it's on the drawing board.