What Not to Do With Your 401 k 6 hrs ago: related news

What Small Business Owners Need to Know About 401(k)s

Running a small business can be a life-consuming process, so sometimes small-business owners miss the forest for the trees. Maybe that's why only about 16 percent of businesses with fewer than 50 employees in the United States have 401(k) plans. Small-business owners are so focused on developing their businesses that some do not realize that those assets can grow at a much faster rate for their retirement under the right plan. An October survey by ING DIRECT's ShareBuilder401k, which designs 401(k) plans for small businesses, found that "not enough employees" was the top reason cited by small-business owners as to why they do not have a 401(k) plan. That's despite the fact that even sole proprietorships with no other employees can have 401(k)s.

Worksheet: The Roth 401(k) Estimator

This relatively new retirement savings option, which first became available on January 1, 2006, combines features of both a traditional 401(k) plan and a Roth IRA. Like a Roth IRA, contributions are made on a post-tax basis and qualified withdrawals taken during retirement are completely tax free. (With a traditional 401(k), contributions are pretax and withdrawals taken during retirement are taxed as ordinary income.) And like a traditional 401(k), the Roth 401(k) has no income restrictions — if your employer offers it, you're eligible. (For more details, read our story, "Introducing the Roth 401(k).")

Sometimes It Pays To Borrow From Your 401(k)

The financial media has coined a few pejorative phrases to describe the pitfalls of borrowing money from a 401(k). Some members of the financial press would even have you believe that taking a loan from a 401(k) plan is an act of robbery committed against your own retirement. However, this idea may be more urban myth than reality. According to a study by the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI), 18% of all 401(k) participants had plan loans outstanding in 2006. Clearly, these loans have a following and, in fact, they can be appropriate in some situations. Let's take a look at how such a loan could be used sensibly and why it need not spell trouble for your retirement savings (For related reading, see Eight Reasons To Never Borrow From Your 401(k).

Stacked Deck: Debit Card That Taps 401(k) Retirement Savings Is Easy to Use and Abuse

RISMEDIA, July 23, 2008-(MarketWatch)-Debit cards are straightforward. You use them for purchases and money is deducted from your bank account. But when the debited account is your 401(k) retirement plan, critics angrily line up to take a swipe at that piece of plastic.It’s not hard to see why. The 401(k) debit card lets you borrow from retirement savings and pay yourself back with interest over time, much as you would with a typical 401(k) loan. Only the card makes it much easier to crack your retirement nest egg; all you do is shop, swipe and sign.

Bolt a huge fan of Hayden and Gilchrist

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Stull, Stull & Brody Announces Investigation on Behalf of Participants and Beneficiaries of the 401(k) Savings and Profit Sharing Plan of the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and Its Subsidiaries and the Standard and Poor's 401(k) Savings and Pr

Stull, Stull & Brody Announces Investigation on Behalf of Participants and Beneficiaries of the 401(k) Savings and Profit Sharing Plan of the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and Its Subsidiaries and the Standard and Poor's 401(k) Savings and Profit Sharing Plan for Represented Employees

What Not to Do With Your 401(k)? ? ? 6 hrs ago

As inflation rises in Asia, expect more monetary tightening from its central banks in the second-half of 2008, says Tom Vosa, head of market economics, Europe at the National Australia Bank. He talks to CNBC's Stephen Sedgwick & Maura Fogarty.

Rethinking 401(k) rollovers to IRAs

Conventional retirement wisdom tells us that when you leave a job, you should roll over your 401(k) to an IRA. Rollovers allow you to continue delaying taxes on your nest egg as it accumulates and avoid an early-withdrawal penalty. But if you have an especially good 401(k) with your old company, it may be better to leave your retirement money there or roll it over into your new company's 401(k).

Rethinking 401(k) Rollovers

Conventional retirement wisdom tells us that when you leave a job, you should roll over your 401(k) to an IRA. Rollovers allow you to continue delaying taxes on your nest egg as it accumulates and avoid an early-withdrawal penalty. But if you have an especially good 401(k) with your old company, it may be better to leave your retirement money there or roll it over into your new company's 401(k).

Don't Write Off ETFs in 401(k)s Yet

One thing I DON'T question is the fact that there's not as yet much going on in 401(k) plans with ETFs. There's been a lot of noise around this for a long time with little of substance going on. The problem is that the structure of the 401(k) system is atrocious and tailor-made not only for traditional mutual funds, but for mutual fund companies to enjoy captive, sticky distribution.

Corporate I-T records open to hacking too

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7 things to consider before you move your 401(k) into an IRA

Conventional retirement wisdom tells us that when you leave a job, you should roll over your 401(k) to an IRA. Rollovers allow you to continue delaying taxes on your nest egg as it accumulates and avoid an early-withdrawal penalty. But if you have an especially good 401(k) with your old company, it may be better to leave your retirement money there or roll it over into your new company's 401(k).

What Should You Do With Your Old 401(k)?

(EMAILWIRE.COM, June 26, 2008 ) (EMAILWIRE.COM, Cincinnati, OH -- If you have changed jobs several times during the course of your career, you probably have an interesting collection of retirement savings accounts from your previous employers. In fact, according to the Department of Labor, Americans move to a new employer once every four years and our collective trail of old 401(k) and 403(b) plans totals in the trillions of dollars. While leaving your retirement account with a former employer is a better decision than cashing out your account and splurging on a boat, it may be more beneficial to consolidate your retirement savings by rolling your old 401(k) or similar employer-sponsored retirement plan into an IRA. A Rollover IRA offers you four major benefits: • Increased Investment Options.

Is it wise to borrow from a 401(k)?

What do you think about taking a loan against my 401(k) (which is performing abysmally)? My 401(k) plan does allow me to take out a loan, and because I have to pay the interest to myself (around 10%) it seems like a way to indirectly "up" the amount that I am contributing to the plan. Your thoughts?

KOHL HEARING TO EXAMINE STEEP RISE IN 401(k) LOANS, PLAN POLICIES TO REDUCE LOSS OF SAVINGS

WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, July 16, U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) will hold a hearing on reducing 401(k) leakage caused by loans and withdrawals, which can result in a substantial loss in retirement savings. At the hearing, the Center for American Progress will release a report entitled, "Robbing Tomorrow to Pay for Today: Economically Squeezed Families are Turning to Their 401(k)s to Make Ends Meet," which demonstrates that loans are not only increasing in number, but that the amounts taken out and the percentage of participants taking loans is growing substantially as well.

401(k) Participants Pull Out from Equities

401(k) participants continued to flee equity holdings in June 2008, according to Hewitt’s 401(k) Index.

What to Do With Your 401(k) Assets

It's time to let you in on a dirty little secret: You may not own the stock you own. That's right, if you invest with a brokerage firm, the shares you bought are almost certainly not held in your name. Technically, they're held in the name of the Wall Street firm you do business with, hence the term "street name."

Announcing the Availability of SmartPlan 401, the World's First Interactive Video 401(k) Engagement Engine

Announcing the Availability of SmartPlan 401, the World's First Interactive Video 401(k) Engagement Engine

How Do I Prevent Lan Party Theft?

DragonTHC writes "I'm thinking about hosting a lan party open to the public. I'm aiming for approximately 60 people to attend. I can handle all the logistics of operation. The only thing I can't wrap my head around is: how do I prevent theft at the lan party? Do I hire security guards? Do I need security cameras? I don't know the people who will attend, and I don't know if they're trustworthy enough to not steal other people's equipment. What do I do?"

Announcing the Availability of SmartPlan 401, the World's First Interactive Video 401(k) Engagement Engine

PRNewswire/ -- vWise Inc. today announced the general availability of SmartPlan 401, a unique new interactive video-based engagement system that prompts greater participation in company-sponsored investment plans, such as 401(k)s.

What's the cost of your 401(k)? Hint: not free

My column last week probably prompted many readers to panic when I asked a simple question: Do you know how much your mutual funds cost? I should have mentioned that this is a two-part quiz. And here's the second question: How much are you paying for your 401(k)?

401(k)s To Get More Cost Effective

It looks like 401(k) sponsors and participants are finally coming into the home stretch in the race to obtain clearer fee disclosure. The House Education and Labor Committee chaired by George Miller (D-Calif.) has been pushing passage of the 401(k) Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act, which differs somewhat from an earlier bill that was sharply criticized by the mutual fund industry -- largely because it required that all plans include an index fund, a less expensive investment option than most other fund offerings.

401(K) LOANS AND WITHDRAWALS

Thirty-six percent of U.S. workers had a defined contribution retirement plan, which includes 401(k) accounts, according to the 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances conducted for the Federal Reserve Board. Of 401(k) plans among clients of Hewitt Associates L.L.C.:

Roth Feature Boosts Benefits For 401(k) And 403(b) Plans

Roth 401(k) and 403(b) plans, available since January of 2006, offer substantial benefits for employees who are looking for ways to shelter income from taxes on a permanent basis. However, it can be difficult for employees to know whether they will come out ahead by selecting the Roth option in their plans instead of the traditional pretax contribution features. Let's take a look at some of the benefits of the Roth feature and compare them to traditional retirement plans. (For background reading, see Introducing The Roth 401(k).)

4 options that improve a 401(k) plan

"Many 401(k)s offer expensive, underperforming plans," says Daniel Solin, author of "The Smartest 401(k) Book You'll Ever Read."

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