401K » Retirement Plans

While employers may be okay with letting their employees move on, they’re not trying to let their 401k accounts walk away so easily. According to a recent report from Wall Street Journal, it seems that many employers are fighting to keep the assets that go with their former employees’ 401k instead of allowing the employees to roll their money into an IRA until they find their next job.

Employers Need the Money

A recent study from Fidelity Investments, the nation’s largest provider of retirement plans, has found that 44 percent of employers it survey plan to or have reinstated contributions to employees’ 401(k) plans. Of the 300 companies surveyed, about 8 percent had suspended or reduced contributions as of July 2009.

This great news shows that more companies are confident about their fiscal future. It’s also great news for employees who are looking to grow their retirement savings.

Global human resources consulting and outsourcing company, Hewitt Associates, is pushing for federal action to help put a stop to the lack of transparency both employers and workers deal with when trying to understand how 401(k) plan fees are being charged.

The company believes that because investment managers and other service providers are not obligated to tell how they’re charging, workers are missing out on the retirement savings that could help them properly rebuild their nest eggs after the financial crisis.

Investment Managers Not Telling the Whole Story

A new survey released by the Employee Benefit Research Institute revealed that the percentage of American workers with very little in the pot for retirement savings grew for the third straight year. According to the Retirement Confidence Survey, which was released on Tuesday, the percentage of workers who have less than $10,000 in retirement savings grew four percent between 2009 and 2010.

Statistics from the Employee Benefit Research Institute

A secure and comfortable retirement is a dream that many of us have. Check out these retirement tips from personal finance bloggers around the web to find out what you can start doing today to help you achieve that goal.

Does Retiring Early Lead to a Shorter Lifespan?

In the near future, the government may be planning to take over your 401(k) and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) and managing it on its own. Why, you ask? Well, mainly because there is an unprecedented trillion-dollar deficit that needs to be taken care of.

Plans for Your Money

Those who are lucky enough to receive a 401k plan as part of their employee benefits must experience mixed emotions regarding the money on deposit. On the one hand, the benefits of having a 401k are overwhelming and will come in very handy in retirement. On the other hand, there is an account in your name, with your money and you need to keep your hands off it until the age of 55. Ultimately, the temptation may be too great to resist and because of that, 401k debit cards are popping up as a way to access the money invested in a 401k plan.

How 401k Debit Cards Work

What if someone offered you free money?

Your boss may be offering you an automatic spike in your pay and you may not even be taking advantage of it. If you are with a company that offers a matching contribution of any amount towards your 401k contribution, you need to take advantage of it as it can add up to additional and significant amounts of cash by the time you are fully vested and ready to retire.

Employee Contributions

Have you been working for a long time, and you’ve decided that you want to retire early? For many people this is a dream come true.

However, it’s a dream that could become a nightmare very quickly if you don’t have enough money saved up. Many people put their money into 401k funds which they obtain either through their employer or with the help of an independent investment manager or broker. 401k funds and IRAs (individual retirement accounts) are great ways to put money aside every month.

However, they are designed for retirement purposes, and hence are strictly regulated in terms of how they’re accessed. If you have a 401k and you decide to retire early, you need to approach this money carefully so that you don’t pay sharp penalties for too-early withdrawal.

After years of working for your company, you are off to pursue new opportunities in the form of your own business. The time working for the company was not bad as you made friends, contacts, gained valuable experience and amassed a tidy sum in your 401k plan. As you are preparing for your exit interview, one of the most important things for you to consider is what you’re going to do with your 401k portfolio.

Avoid Cashing Out