Can someone please tell me what a 401(K) is??

Question

Can someone please tell me what a 401(K) is? I am really not to sure.

Answer 1

Its a kind of retirement savings plan set up by your employer for their employees.

When you sign up, you tell your employer what percentage of your paycheck you want to put into your 401(k) account every pay day. Most plans will allow you to put away as little as 1 or 2% or as much as 10% (maybe more). The money you elect to put into your 401(k) account is deducted "pre-tax" -- meaning you don't pay Federal or State income taxes on that portion of your gross salary -- so you pay less taxes than you would otherwise :-)

In addition, most employers (but not all) will match your 401(k) contributions up to a certain point. For example, maybe for every 1% you put in, they make a matching contribution of .5% up to a maximum matching contribution of, lets say 4%. So in this example, if you elected to put 8% of your weekly pay into your 401(k) Plan, your employer would contribute an additional 4% to your account; if you elected to put 10% of your pay into your 401(k), your employer would still put only the maximum 4% in. Like that. Your money is invested for you by the 401(k) plan administrator in money-making mutual funds or stocks or whatever; some 401(k) plans will allow you to choose where you want your money to go, from a menu of investment choices, while others won't. As the stock market goes up or down, so does the value of your 401(k) account.

As I said, the money you save in your 401(k) account is non-taxable when you earn it, but when you retire and begin taking money out of the account, at that point you have to pay tax on it, but the idea is that when you retire, you'll probably be in a lower tax bracket than you are now so you'll pay less tax on it when you take it out.

A 401(k) account is strictly for retirement purposes; if for some reason you want or need to withdraw your money before then, you have to have a very good reason (like financial hardship, or something), and then you'll pay a 20% early withdrawal penalty AND have to pay income tax on the money you withdraw, so its not a good idea unless you really need the cash and have no other source of funds. Some 401(k) plans will allow you to borrow money up to the value of your account and repay it later with interest. If you do this, you don't have to pay tax or early withdrawal penalty on it as long as you repay the loan with interest within a certain amount of time.

Answer 2

I'm not sure exactly what the 401(K) means, I'm guessing it was the bill's name or something like that. What it is, is a means for a n individual to have money taken out of their paychecks for future retirement. In some cases your employer will offer a matching %. There are positive tax benefits to contributing to a 401K that include lower gross income so a lower tax burden. The downside is that you can't touch the money, (except in limited situations) until you retire. I would recommend that everyone take advantage of this program if it is offered at your place of employment.

Answer 3

it's an employee benefit provided by some companies that consist of a savings account funded by deductions from your paycheck and often involving matching funds from the employer. the good thing about contributions is that they are made before your income tax deductions are made. thus each dollar saved this way is worth more than if the 401k contribution was made after taxes.

this may sound confusing, but do the math: take $550 gross pay, deduct $50 401k contribution and then calculate 25% income tax from the balance = 25% (500) = $125. Net pay is $550 - 50 - 125 = $375.

In contrast, 25% income tax on total net is $137.50 (vs. $125 above) and net pay is $362.50.

PLUS the employer usually matches your 401k contribution up to a certain %. 401k's are a good way to save, something most Americans don't do enough of, and we all need to start planning for our retirements even while young.

401k funds are invested in a variety of types of funds which you have a choice of, depending on whether you prefer higher potential/higher risk vs. lower risk/lower return.

If you work for a company that offers this benefit, speak with someone in HR.

Answer 4

It's a retirement plan that you get through your employer. Usually the company and you both contribute to it. Usually you choose an amount of money to go out of your paycheck and into a special 401(k) account. If you leave your job, you can "roll it over" to your new job, but you only roll over a % of the money, depending on how long you worked there.

For my company, I don't get to take 100% with me unless I work here for 5 years. If I leave before then, I get only 20% or 30%, etc.

Answer 5

A 401k is a retirement plan where the employer matches the dollar amount that the employee has deducted from their pay to be put in a fund for retirement. If you leave a company that has this benefit and then go to another company that offers this benefit then you can rollover into the new company. If you leave employment or fall into hard times you can cash out your 401k early but there will be penalty fees and you will have to pay the taxes on the money you recieve.

Answer 6

It's basically a savings account for retirement. I think it's named after the tax code or law that created it.

I think it also requires some kind of employer matching.

My answer is crappy, you should just read Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/401(k)

Answer 7

A 401K is a retirement plan that is invested in mutual funds. You put in pre-tax dollars into the plan and generally your employer will match a portion of it.

For a complete explanation go to:

http://www.streetauthority.com/terms/num/401k.asp

Answer 8

It's a retirement account that is usually handled by your employer. You put money into the account out of every check, and some employers "match" what you put in. It has replaced pensions in a lot of companies.

Answer 9

thats how long my schlong is in the metric system

Answer 10

401k is like a saving account for retirement. It is usually set up when you stark working and has various other features that will help you later in life. Talk to your employer if you have one now. Hope this helps.