Saturday 29 June 2019

Tips For Better Ways To Invest 401K Money

By Gregory Miller


Many older people look forward to the day they can finally retire. In order to enjoy this retirement, they need to have funds put aside to make sure they can continue to live the life they have built up. Younger people should begin putting money aside as soon as possible in order to achieve their goals by the time they're ready to retire. There are several ideas for better ways to invest 401K money and make sure that your retirement is fully funded.

Starting early is the top piece of advice given. By adding just a little bit of money each month to the fund, you can use the compound interest to grow your money exponentially. Waiting until after your thirties to create a retirement fund will require quite a bit larger investment in order to catch up. It's a great habit to start early and continue until you retire.

Many employers have matching funds. The employer matching is usually between one and five percent match of your contributions. This means whatever you contribute to your salary, up to the matching percentage, the employer will match it dollar for dollar. For instance, if your matching amount is two percent of your salary, the minimum you should put into the company 401k is two percent. The company will match it and make it a total of four percent without costing you anything extra. That's basically free money.

Compound interest adds up over time. The idea here goes along with contributing early. When you start contributing, your money gets interest every year. Compound interest works by taking the principal amount plus last years interest and providing interest again on the total amount. This is really interest on top of interest. With this type of system, your money is making more money.

Risk tolerance should be evaluated throughout life. The different types of risk plans have different associated growth rates. High-risk plans will provide much higher growth potential. The downside is that the higher risk funds could also lose money. Lower risk funds are generally more consistent in what they offer as far as gains, but they won't be nearly as much a the high-risk plans. Some people will invest some in each to have both the security and the high reward possibility.

Paying taxes is required, now or later. The question is when do you want to pay taxes on your money. When you retire and have no other income, it can be a pain to also have to pay taxes on your retirement money. Roth IRAs pay taxes as you go. This eliminates the need to pay after you retire. However, leaving more money in the fund by not paying taxes could provide higher growth over time by waiting to pay taxes until you retire. There are benefits to both ways and it really comes down to planning and personal preference.

One of the most important pieces of advice is to leave it alone. Do not take loans or cash out of your retirement funds before you reach retirement age. Doing so has several negative consequences. First, you won't have as much money in the fund. There are also penalties for early withdrawal and the government might impose fees and higher taxes if you do.

Reaching those golden years of retirement is a big goal and should be well funded. Taking the time to put money aside early and letting it grow over the years is a great way to get to that goal without having to stress. Leave the money alone until you're ready for it and you should really be able to enjoy your retirement.




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