My husband and I have a question concerning a 401k account?

I was wondering if anyone knows how to close out a 401k account and not put more in it. We would like to reopen after the stock market gets better, but we don't know how to do this. If anyone has a solution please help!
My husband and I have a question concerning a 401k account?
dunno darling id go into your bank though and find out as soon as you can.........god ye did well for yourselfs .. fairplay!!xx
Reply:You should be able to stop your contributions now, but sometimes they do not let you start up again until a certain date (like Jan 1 of the following year). As far as taking the money out, you can but there is a penalty for doing so for any reason other than a true hardship like saving your home from foreclosure, medical expenses, etc. (which you will have to prove the hardship). I did hear mention of waiving the early withdrawal penalty a few weeks ago, but am not sure what happened with that. It is tempting to close it out, but the stocks are now pretty low, and I expect most of them to recover in time - so, rather than take a huge loss right now, we are leaving our alone and waiting for the market to recover - especially since this is a long term savings plan.
Reply:Of course there are not many people who would recommend this but here's what you do.





Tell your employer you would like to change the % that you contribute, there is a form you will need that they have. Complete this form and return it to HR.





There are some rules to closing it and you would pay more in taxes and penalties than you would likely lose in the market because with a 401K there are more than just stocks that you are investing in.





If you want to change how aggressive your account is that may be the way to go. Call the number on your statement and speak to a rep. from the company managing your 401, tell them you want to be less aggressive.





Try that and see if you feel a little better about your money.
Reply:Now is the time that you want to put money into it. To answer your question, one talk to someone at work that handles this and stop your contribution. You could be losing out on matching funds, so this is really a bad move. Secondly, talk to the same person and transfer the amount of money in the 401k to a money market or government bond fund, again possibly a bad move too. I hope you know the exact day the market gets better, so you can get right back in. Good Luck!
Reply:Go to the HR department at whichever company you have the 401(k). They will have either the information you need or the person at the plan administrator's firm who will have the info.





On the other hand, if you believe the market is going to get better, why would you stop investing with stocks so cheap. Various studies show that trying to time the market (buy at its lowest or sell at its highest) usually ends up with the timer making less money than just continually investing and riding the market up and down.
Reply:you have to talk to the 401k director at your company (usually someone in HR) or call the company that handles your 401K directly. i must warn you though, most companies charge heavy fees for cashing out a 401k
Reply:You really don't wanna do that. Right now you are buying stock cheap. You're getting more stocks for the money. When the stock market recovers. Your gonna make a killing.
Reply:i wouldn't close out the account. Why?. you just dump hundreds or thousands of dollars down the drain. The market itself is a roller coaster. So i suggest leave your 401k alone.