Question: Dear Steve, Hi, I am an 80-year widow. I have an IRA with Lincoln investments worth around $57,000.00. In addition, I have a mortgage with a balance of $60,000. I want to pay off the mortgage and wondering if this would be a wise choice. The money in Lincoln is not making that much, …
You have debt. But you’ve also got a stash of cash in your 401(k). If you’re feeling overwhelmed by high-interest credit card balances, a student loan, and/or an auto loan, you might think taking money out of your 401(k) is a good way to pay down that debt and get it under control. But is …
Question: Dear Steve, I am a 40-year old single mother of one. Currently, I have $22K in credit card debt among 3 creditors: American Express $16K (9.99%), Home Depot $3K (12%), and Furniture Express $3K (zero interest and payment until March 2010). I have $35K in student loans (6.2%) with Wachovia, who is also the …
Whether your retirement plans involve writing your memoir from a lovely little seaside cottage, a heated game of bocce against your (*ahem* sore loser) neighbor, or hitting up every farmers market in a 50-mile radius, a 401(k) is one savings strategy you can use to save money to get you there. Simply put, a 401(k) …
Camilo Maldonado writes in Forbes about a very interesting IRS ruling that would your employer to deposit matching funds into your 401(k). It is always a struggle to get employees to make 401(k) investments, even when the company provides free money in matching funds. Under the IRS ruling, companies would be able to help employees …
Q. I understand that in certain circumstances IRA and 401(k) money may be protected from a lawsuit. However, if a person is retired and has rolled over their ERISA plan to an account with a financial institution, are those funds still protected? A. Generally speaking, yes. The laws can vary by state. “Under federal law, …
Every year someone asks me how much they can actually contribute to their 401(k). There seems to be a ton of confusion. Some 401(k) participants seem to think it’s a percentage. They are confused by the match percentage. Somehow they have confused that’s the max that they should contribute. Not true, that’s the max contribution …
I’m not sure how many times I can say it, don’t drain your retirement assets to pay debt. It’s a bad idea on so many levels. In a couple of posts I even talk about the long term consequences of tapping those funds. See Here’s Why a 401(k) Loan to Pay Off Debt Can Cost …
“Dear Steve, 20 years same company making 200 or more each year in a sales role. Got fired unexpectedly. Been riding large debt load for years, but managing it I guess because of big income. My monthly nut is about 4k. + another 3k to float my excessive bad debt: Two cc: 32k 0% 12 …
Borrowing from a 401k is a major decision. It is important you make certain considerations before borrowing from your 401k, so that your loan doesn’t negatively impact your retirement. The key aspect to borrowing from a 401k vs withdrawing from one, is you won’t have to pay taxes or penalties unless you default on your …