Category: 401K
-
Putting Retirement Saving On Hold
In an ideal world, you would have enough money to fund both your retirement and everything else in your life. However, in reality, you often have to make decisions because your income rarely, if ever, satisfies every single need you have. For a lot of working Americans, the decision sometimes comes down to something you…
-
Don’t Adjust Your 401(k)!
An AP article stated that many retirement investors had begun moving their money out of the stock market, something I see as a huge mistake. This is a big mistake when you’re talking long term, which most retirement investors are, because over the long run the market will give you solid returns if you let…
-
Keep Investing In Your 401(k)
With all the turmoil in the stock market lately, you may be tempted to stop contributions or adjust them from your original plan – don’t! The thoughts going through your mind are typical, especially in times of crisis, but this when you should be staying the course or even increasing your contributions. Many of the…
-
2008 Tax Brackets
If you’re interested in reading about the 2008 tax brackets as well as some of the increases for contributions, phaseouts, etc. then Blueprint for Financial Prosperity has a good writeup on the subject. In that look at the 2008 tax brackets, the site reviews the changes to the marginal tax brackets for 2008, compares them…
-
Rollover Your 401(k) Directly Into Roth IRA
In 2008 and 2009, you will be permitted to directly roll over/convert a 401(k) into a Roth IRA as long as you’re willing to pay the taxes for the conversion and if your annual income does not exceed $100,000 (in 2010, the $100k rule expires). In 401(k) official terms, this means that you can convert…
-
401(k) Linked Debit Cards Are A Mistake
A recent Yahoo! Finance article discusses an option some companies offer in which you can get a debit card linked to your 401(k) account. With a simple swipe of the card, you can borrow money from your 401(k). Without going into details of how it works, the mere fact that you can have such easy…
-
Take Advantage of IRA & 401(k) Tax Benefits
When it comes to investing, the tax benefits of IRAs (both Roth and Traditional) and 401(k)s can’t be matched, as long as you use them properly. So, it always pays to make sure that you’re not putting tax advantaged investments into those accounts (unless that’s the only place you’re investing) because you generally can’t take…
-
Protecting Against High 401(k) Fees
The latest article by Laura Rowley on the 401(k) fee flimflam involves how some 401(k) plan providers are charging exorbitant fees hidden behind a haze of complicated math and chicanery. The bottom line is that some employers are ill-equipped to properly analyze the fees of a plan provider and so sometimes make mistakes in picking…
-
Five Biggest 401K Rollover Mistakes
401K rollovers are always tricky because they come at a time when there’s a lot of change in your life. Hopefully, it’s the result of a voluntary job change – you resigned amicably, you switched jobs, etc. Sometimes, it’s the result of an involuntary job change and those big changes are difficult; there’s no sense…