401(k)
« Previous EntriesShould You Manage Your 401(k) Yourself?
Friday, May 9th, 2008This question comes to us from a guy I have known my entire life:
I read your article the other day Should Portfolio Rebalancing Be Considered Market Timing? and it got me thinking about my 401k balance. I’m turning 40 next month and am looking at my 401k balance, thinking should someone with my level […]
Advice For a Reader - What Would You Do In This Situation?
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008Last month I wrote How Much Will That 401(k) Loan Cost You?. The other day a reader named Mark left the following comment on that post:
But, I have a different scenario…
Status:
Company match is 100% up to 4% of pay, none thereafter.
Contribution is at 10%
401k return so far this year is -8%
I am over 50.
Large […]
How Much Will That 401(k) Loan Cost You?
Thursday, February 28th, 2008I have read in the news lately that more and more people are tapping their 401(k) plans in order to get cash to pay bills. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that in most cases, borrowing from your 401(k) is a bad idea. That said, I thought would be interesting to […]
Roth 401(k) vs. the Traditional 401(k): One Reader’s Thoughts
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008Reader and frequent commenter, Don, sent me this email this morning. It’s his thoughts on the Roth 401(k) vs. Traditional 401(k). I’ve included my thoughts after Don’s email (edited slightly from the original). As always, your thoughts would be appreciated.
I was reading this Marketwatch article recently:
Roth IRAs: Good for you or not?
In […]
Employees Can Now Sue Over 401(k) Accounts - Is This a Good Thing?
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008From Financial Planning Magazine’s website comes this little news story:
Employees can now sue over mismanagement of their 401(k) accounts to recover their losses after the Supreme Court reversed a ruling on Feb. 21 the lower courts made more than 20 years ago.
In the unanimous opinion, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that the landscape of retirement […]
Retirement Planning & Taxes: New Questions
Monday, February 25th, 2008Tax diversity has become a more common discussion among personal finance experts in recent years. This is due not only to the plethora of tax-free, tax-advantaged, and taxable investment options that people have today, but also to the uncertainty of our future tax system.
Annuities in a 401(k)????
Tuesday, February 12th, 2008Interesting article over at SmartMoney.com about annuities in 401(k) plans.
I have my reservations.
Smart Money lays out my main concern:
When choosing among the mutual funds offered within your 401(k), looking at performance and expenses is a clear way to evaluate a fund within its investment category. But things get much foggier when annuities come into the […]
Reader Question: To Roth 401(k) It or Not?
Friday, December 14th, 2007I received the following email last night from a reader looking for some help in trying to decide whether or not to contribute to a Roth 401(k).
JLP,
First, I love the AFM blog. Tell your father-in-law I loved his article and that his fans want more. =)
I have a question that maybe you can […]
How About a ‘Super 401(k)’?
Monday, December 10th, 2007I read an interesting Business Week article titled Redrawing the Route to Retirement, which is about Devon Energy’s ‘Super 401(k).’ The ‘Super 401(k)’ was set up to take the place of their traditional 401(k) and pension plan. Employees who sign up for the new plan and contribute 6% of their salary to the […]
How About an Automatic IRA?
Tuesday, October 30th, 2007I read an interesting editorial by Laura Tyson in today’s Wall Street Journal about different ways to get Americans to start saving for retirement. The article mentioned the automatic 401(k) and something new called an automatic IRA, which would work similar to the auto 401(k) but for small companies. From the editorial:
To help […]