What is this thread all about?
Just a place for general discussion. A place to unload whats on your mind and talk about anything - personal, health, help needed, achievements, daily highs and daily lows, theories, predictions and what have you.
Does not need to be Q related
In today's thread I want to take a moment and welcome all the newQs (lets make this a new word?) amongst us. For too long, seeing a comment or a post from the "handshakes" usually meant a shill or a troll coming to stir trouble. Lately I have noticed that a lot of these new users are posting insightful content.
I can only dare to dream that this is an indication of the Great Awakening hitting masses and some of them finding their way here.
If you are a newQ, feel free to introduce yourself in this thread!
You could roll it over into a bank CD IRA and not pay any taxes or penalties.
Do you have the option to leave it in place? If it's performing well, it may make sense to do that.
Do you need some of the money? You could borrow against it, or roll it over into a bank CD IRA and then make an early distribution.
If you do this, that is, roll it into a CD IRA, and THEN take money out of that IRA, then, assuming you are under the age of 59.5, then you'll generally be taxed on how much you took out, plus a 10% penalty. You can avoid this penalty if used for certain purposes (buying a home, education expenses, etc).
I used to be a banker, so can answer any questions you have if you need more help.
Well, thank you so much for your comment & advice. That is very helpful!
I don't need the money now & I'm in my forties. I just saw that it has recently been losing money instead of gaining. I thought the stock market wasn't doing well right now. Please, forgive me. I know nothing really about investing & such.
If it's not performing well right now, and your company is no longer matching contributions to it, then you'd be well advised, at least in the short-term, to initiate what is called a "rollover" into a bank CD IRA.
Right now, a 401k is subject to the ebbs and flows of the market, so it can go down in value. A bank CD IRA (certificate of deposit, individual retirement account) literally cannot go down in value, at least nominally.
The bad side is, it won't earn you much either. CD IRA's only pay something like a tenth of a percent which is why I say it will never go down nominally at least, but it can lose purchasing power with inflation being what it is. But the important thing is, it's not tied to the market, so you can't "lose" money doing this.
Additionally, you won't get charged ANY penalties by the IRS, nor will you be taxed on any of it. Both a 401k and a bank CD IRA are retirement accounts.
After you roll it over and are sure it cannot lose further value, then I'd recommend talking with a wealth management officer (usually your bank has one). From there, you can put it all in something more safe but could get higher yields, keep it where it is, split it up, or any number of things.
If you wanted to get the ball rolling, contact your employer or 401k provider and get them to start filling out a rollover form.
Thank you. That was so helpful.
You are welcome. Good luck!