{"id":1231,"date":"2019-01-11T04:14:14","date_gmt":"2019-01-11T04:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.loanry.com\/blog\/?p=1231"},"modified":"2023-01-28T23:41:38","modified_gmt":"2023-01-28T23:41:38","slug":"401k-defined-and-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.loanry.com\/blog\/401k-defined-and-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"401k Defined and Explained: Retire Simple"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1659708750416{margin-top: 1em !important;}&#8221;][vc_video link=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=61Fwj8ovdQE&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1659709227595{margin-bottom: -1.2em !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text]Maybe you&#8217;ve heard that the average American needs over $1 million in retirement savings to comfortably enjoy their golden years. While it is easy to get overwhelmed by a huge number like $1 million, most workers get help saving for retirement in the form of a 401(k). Here a 401k defined and explained with guidance on how it helps you save. We also will show you how to take advantage of an employer match if you&#8217;re fortunate enough to receive one.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1659709237366{margin-top: -0.7em !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2>How Does a 401K Plan Work?<\/h2>\n<p>As defined, a 401(k) gets its name from the U.S. tax code. <strong>Eligible employees can select a percentage of their salary to deposit pre-tax in a 401(k) account<\/strong>. If you make $50,000 and deposit $5,000 in your 401(k), your taxable income is only $45,000.<\/p>\n<p>Some companies offer a Roth 401(k). Money deposited in a Roth 401(k) is taxed at the time of contribution, but not when withdrawn.<\/p>\n<p>Many workplaces offer 401(k) matches, which are exactly what they sound like. <strong>If you sign up to save 3 percent of your income in your 401(k), your employer will match your 3 percent<\/strong>, effectively doubling your retirement savings. This is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loanry.com\/blog\/four-cornerstones-financial-planning-explained\/\">cornerstone to good financial planning<\/a> and management.<\/p>\n<p>The IRS sets retirement account limits every year. <strong>For 2022, individuals can contribute up to $20,500 to a 401(k)<\/strong>. Workers over age 50 can add an extra $6,000 to their accounts in catch-up benefits.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2>Real Life Example<\/h2>\n<p>A 401k defined and explained wouldn&#8217;t be complete without a real life example. Meet Henry. If Henry plays it right by following a careful 401k plan he could retire almost $1,000,000&#8217;s richer. You can do the same![\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=&#8221;16887&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2>Things to Consider 401(k)<\/h2>\n<p>A 401(k) can be a convenient way to save for retirement, but it isn&#8217;t perfect. To get the most out of your 401(k) account, <strong>keep fees low and avoid early withdrawals<\/strong>. Track your rate of return (how much interest you earn per year). The higher your rate of return, the faster your money grows.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]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[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]To see how much you&#8217;re spending on retirement account fees, <strong>look at the expense ratio for any fund you invest in<\/strong>. This should be expressed as a percentage. In general, <strong>an expense ratio of 1 percent or less is good, while higher expense ratios mean you lose more money<\/strong>. In addition to account fees, you may be subject to 401(k) administrative fees.<\/p>\n<p>Wait until after age 59.5 to cash out a 401(k) account. If you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/advisor\/retirement\/401k-early-withdrawal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cash in your 401(k) earlier<\/a>, you&#8217;ll be taxed on the account federally and at the state level. You&#8217;ll also be hit with early withdrawal fees.<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you are leaving a position, do not cash out your workplace 401(k)<\/strong>. The better option is to request a direct rollover into an IRA (individual retirement account). The 401(k) administrator will send a check to your IRA account and you&#8217;ll retain the full value of your 401(k) plan.<\/p>\n<p>The only <strong>exception to early withdrawal is for <a href=\"https:\/\/loanry.com\/mortgage-loans\/home-purchase-loans\">first-time homebuyers<\/a><\/strong>, who can safely take 10 percent of their 401(k) for down payment helping them loan shop for a mortgage.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1659873787834{margin-top: -0.7em !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h3>In Conclusion<\/h3>\n<p>Know that you&#8217;ve had a 401k defined and explained in detail, you have no excuse not to take advantage of things like adding to your workplace retirement account. It&#8217;s never too early to start saving![\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<a class=\"arb-banner\" href=\"https:\/\/key.goalry.com\/get-member-key?utm_campaign=organic&utm_source=loanry&utm_medium=personalfinancecategory&utm_content=banner\"><img class=\"arb-banner-img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.loanry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/loanry-big-banner.jpg\" alt=\"Loanry\"><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn everything about 401k in one place!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":1233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loanry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loanry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loanry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loanry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loanry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1231"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.loanry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18057,"href":"https:\/\/www.loanry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1231\/revisions\/18057"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loanry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loanry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loanry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loanry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}