How can you get out of a 401 k ?
Posted March 17th, 2008 by doctor011
output
Have tried 3 times to speak to my broker,,,,will not return calls. If it can not be removed does anyone see moving to a fund like merkx (heard about it here) as a real option. Close to retirement and worried.
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Ask that they add a treasury based fund to your choices
it is the safest bet for you money. So buy T bills short term like three months and keep rolling over until it is time to use the cash to buy some deflated real estate or something. Treasury bills are what the Chinese and the Japanese demand for the 2-3 Billion they lend the US every day.
The stock market will go down, hedge funds will go under. So just contact the 401K people and have them add the T Bill option. It will not cost them anything to do this.
00ps
Wrong post.
Bank Option
Stick to fixed rate bank options. Market volatility will kill your 401K.
Options available
1. Quit company so you can take the penalty and get your fiat dollars to convert into something hedged against currency devaluation. I considered becoming a contractor for my company. Had to weight the cost of losing benefits. Didn't choose this.
2. Move into a fund that is better protected against stocks/currency volitility
3. Loan yourself money from your own 401K (like someone said above) and invest that fiat money in something better. This is what I ended up doing. Great in many ways. First it gives you back control now to invest/store in no brainer things. Second you get the interest back that you owe yourself. Third your debt to yourself is being monetized as the currency devalues further.
Note of caution: Only do the loan if you are in a state of mind where you consider the penalties / fees no big deal. If you lose your job that loan to yourself comes due within like 60 days or something. If you cannot pay it back you are treated as if you withdrew early from your 401K and thus will have to pay the high fees/taxes. I didn't care since that is what I wanted to do anyway but was precluded from doing so since I still work for the company.
Good luck.
I have tried
to get out of my 401k for the last week. I was told "As long as you are actively employed with (removed) and under the age of 591/2, you may not elect to close your account and request a distribution of your vested account balance."
They go on to say that all i can do is a "Hardship" withdraw. I'm going to keep fighting, but in my case (yours may differ, although I'm being told its IRS rules) it looks like what we've been told that you can withdraw with a 10% penalty (plus taxes) is not true!!!
Next, I'm going to my lawyer.
This f*****g sucks!
Say YES to Dr. NO
back in 1999 when the market
back in 1999 when the market tanked, we cashed in all of our 401ks and paid off our mortgage. paid the taxes and penalties. don't know why they are saying you can't. keep pushing.
Meeting with a Principal
Representative later this week. They are coming to our office. I have experience negative returns this entire year. Any suggestions on how to grill them?
I posted asking about
my mother and father last night convincing them to pull out.
Apparently, VANGUARD is telling them that there is NOTHING that they can do. As long as my father works for that company they can't do anything. They borrowed against it last year and are paying it back but still have a decent sum in it.
They are telling her that unless he quits, he can't touch the money. They just have to watch it dwindle to nothing. It's shameful.
Transfer it all into the 401k money market fund, most have them
Capital preservation, get out of stocks.
just make sure it ias TREASURY based fund
or you will probably lose it all...
Is the treasury
even safe anymore? It just seems everything is set up to have a huge domino effect to topple.
This is the same thing
we were told about my husband's 401(k). It makes me so angry. We scrimped by saving 10% of each check to go to 401(k) and have watched it shrink by 12% since Jan. 1st.
Short term cash reserves
Use them. It's what they're there for.
get out while you can...
take the penalty........
Eastern Oregon is Ron Paul Country!
this is the problem... all
this is the problem... all paper intsruments are NOT liquid... when the masses run for the exits your screwed! just keep trying to contact or go over his head!
Is this the trap i believe it to be
Gold ira's You let them buy and store your bullion ,,What happens when the fed confiscates your gold or silver
You Can "Borrow" It From Yourself Without Quitting
You can apply for a loan from yourself without quitting. You may not be able to take all of it out, but it is one way to take some out and use it elsewhere. You do have to pay it back out of payroll deductions or pay the penalties.
IMissLiberty
Thats the question i want to ask this
Account is from a previous employer 100% mine the other is mine also
You can take the 401(k)
from your previous employer and roll it into a traditional IRA (no penalty or taxes this way). I just did this and rolled it to EuroPacific invested in foreign stocks.
it's your money
Call the broker's number and ask for the branch manager. Ask how to accomplish what you want. If that's a dead end, see if there is an 800 number on your statement or in your prospectus to the company that holds/manages your plan.
Actually its NOT your money
as a 401K is a government program, and the money is the government's. If the markets crash, it would be no problem for the government to come out with a new law that all 401K's can only invest in T bills, and early withdrawl carries a 100% early withdrawl tax. 401K's are an emergency fund for the US Government.
How is your 401K money the governments?
Do you have a link? Would like to learn more...
The Government is indebt
far beyond what we can all pay. And WE THE PEOPLE are subjects of the US Government, per the 14th ammendment. The Government owns EVERYTHING you have, your labor, your investments, every inch of land. Need a link? Read the constitution, read your deed of trust if you've a mortgage, or your deed if you "own" your land lien free. You are a "tenant". At any moment Congress could levy a 100% tax on everything you earn, tax your savings 100% as it is income, previously earned but not FULLY taxed. That 14th ammendment, you know, the one that came right after the slaves were freed that made us ALL subjects of the United States. All money that is created under our system is DEBT. The 14th ammendment requires us to pay the debt of the government. WE owe the government every dollar created, therefore THEY OWN all the money, we own all the DEBT.
Read the 14th ammendment, sections 1, 4, and 5, VERY carefully. You are a subject of the USA, termed "citizen". Every time you sign a tax return, you sign an oath that states "under penalty of perjury" this establishes jurisdiction. Most of us have established jurisdiction in several other ways too.
and its a 2 trillion dollar
and its a 2 trillion dollar emergency fund.. executive orders on the books allow the president to convert the money in these funds to 30 year government bonds! don't believe me folks, look it up... great post txredneck!
all that is true
however, for now, it IS his money and he has access to it if he does it diligently and properly.
Of course
He won't return your calls, because he's got another 100 callers asking him the same thing, his boss probably just advised him to "ignore" those calls.
I doubt it
I manage hundreds of family investment accounts and not one, nobody has asked me to liquidate or cash out. I have had a dozen calls over the past couple of months from clients looking for buying opportunities as the market has fallen. He's probably procrastinating because account liquidation is not what he wants to hear or act upon.
Here at DP there are some wacky prognosticators peddling their beliefs - very be careful with what you do with your life savings. Much of what is being touted is irreversible.
Good for you!
So glad to hear a sensible response. I hate to see people come here for financial advice...no offense to the others, but really, would you take financial advice from someone whose real name you don't even know?
In most 401K(s), you can shift the target of your
fund's assets, at least your portion of the fund(s). In that case, I would find some funds that are primarily invested in hard assets and harder currencies (swiss franc for instance).
bump
thanks in advance
Because of clauses in most
Because of clauses in most 401K's not allowing you to opt out of the plan until a certain age, some 59 1/2, some 65, you can't just take your money out, unless you no longer work at the company which holds the 401K. I looked into this a while back and found my 401K was that way and I still worked at that company at the time. I did have internet access and moved all my money to the money market fund but later had to make the choice to leave the company and take a cash out. Why a cash out? Because I saw what was going to happen and I wanted to protect myself with gold and silver.I lost some money with penalties but because the account didn't hold a great deal of money, I thought it was worth it and as it turns out, it was.
there ya go! good for you!
there ya go! good for you!
Put your 401K money in a short term cash fund
Most 401Ks have a "money market" type fund, sometimes called a short term cash reserve account, which you can buy into for $1 per share. It is basically a savings account, so you will not lose value per se as you would with a fluctuating stock. It is a stable place to put your $$. It will not grow your money, but it will not lose value, either.
I did mine online; no need to talk to them if you have an account you can access online.
Be aware, most of the time once you put your money into one of these accounts, there is some period of time, 60 or 90 days, I think, where you can't take that money back out. It's frozen...but it's safe. As safe as any dollar is, anyway.
DON'T liquidate your 401K unless you absolutely must! You will take a huge beating. I did that several years ago and lost 1/3 of my money.
Good luck.
What are these tied to ?
If it is banks, not a good idea right ? I am trying to figure out the 401k options too.
If it's STCRs are a money market, then it's in a bank.
Short term cash reserves are how you liquify what you've got. You can buy shares for a dollar each, so if your 401K is valued at 10K, you can have a stable 10K in your money market for the period that the market is going up and down and you won't lose value that way. BUT, these funds are not FDIC ensured, and you *can* lose money. You should read your plan's prospectus; it will be clearly stated there. If you want more information, call the company and ask them to explain. They're happy to help you figure out how to reallocate your money if you're becoming more risk-averse.
However, short term cash reserves are the safest thing you can do with your money while keeping it *in* a 401K.
There is risk in a 401K; it's the nature of the beast. If you don't want to have any financial risk, consider stopping your contributions to your 401K and holding that cash out of your paycheck.
Good luck!
Thankyou
for the information. It is through my husbands work, and I want him just to get out, and take the tax hit. He, on the other hand wants to stay in because he thinks the economy will "bounce" back.
I tried!!
I tried to get mine out friday and was refused. I got my 401k statement thursday and had MAJOR losses. dumed !!
Watch and learn .............
............. from Tom Cryer, the Shreveport Lawyer who has taken on the IRS. He will explain why most Americans are not liable for the income tax.
http://www.ronpaulforums....
Make sure you watch the other videos at that link and pass them on to family and friends.
“I have joined your revolution and I’m proud to be part of what you want to do.” - Ron Paul
getting out
There are forms to get out early, but you can wind up losing up 30% of it (if memory serves) to taxes and penalties. I would try to get it into something self-directed and get into commodities stocks if you can't get out without losing your butt. I am NOT any kind of expert, just someone who cleaned out all my accounts and am thanking my lucky stars for my timing.