Is it wise to take money out of a 401k to pay off a home equity line of credit. I am 5 years within retirement

Question

I have been paying on this line of credit for 3 years and becasue it has a flexible interest rate although I pay extra because the interest rates continue to rise most of the payment is almost all interest. I need help getting out of this mess but I also need to put as much money in the 401k as I can because that is not where it should be either. If I do take a inservice withdrawal I will not be able to contribute for 6 months. This means i will lose the interest on the money I take out and on the money I cannot contribute for six months. I will lose my employers 5 percent matching and the tax advantages. What do I do? I plan to retire within the next 3 to 5 years. This is such a mess. I cannot take a loan out because I did so to payoff credit cards and I can only have one outstanding loan at a time. I feel so trapped! The home equity line of credit balance is 13000 dollars.

Answer 1

No, don't take money out of your 401k.

If you're 3-5 yrs away from retirement then you're going to need your money in the 401k for retirement later.

Pay all you can on your loan. Pump up your payment as much as you can. Add a little here & there to it every month.

Take a second job or a part time job for a short while & apply the income from it to your loan payments.

Sell some of your stuff. Hold yard sales, go on ebay. Apply the income from your sales to your loan payment without fail.

Focus on paying off all your debt as quickly as you can. Don't spend any money for anything unnecessarily. Adapt to a frugal lifestyle for awhile. Cut up your charge cards. Don't go shopping, when you do go, take a list & stick to it.

Best of luck to you. You can do it.

Answer 2

I wouldn't react the same, I suggest you -

a) Only put as much in your 401 as is necessary to get the maximum employer contribution. Don't put more in than that til you're out of debt.

b) Cancel cable tv, newspapers, magazines, give up alcohol and tobacco, take your lunch to work, and do anything else you can to reduce spending.

c) Pay off the loan with the highest APR first. I assume you have a mortgage and a home equity loan, so pay off the home equity. $13 thousand is a lot but not a killer amount, so cheer up !

d) Stop using credit cards and stop buying silly things.

e. Make a budget and keep track of every cent you spend.

If none of this stacks up, you could see about a 401K loan thru your employer's plan administrator. Remember though, your home equity loan interest is probably tax deductible and the 401K loan is not.

Answer 3

Yes it is. However your solution is not a "withdrawal" but a "401K Loan" This way you'll be paying the interest to yourself instead of the bank and it'll be tax and penalty free as well as able to keep contributing. You'll also be putting more into your account in the form of the interest you'll be paying to yourself. PS when applying, don't mention when you plan to retire.

Answer 4

Don't touch your 401k that close to retirement. You should be able to pay off a $13,000 loan in 5 years ($217 a month for 60 months + int.).