[Dilbert San Diego]

To paraphrase relating to the gun control debate, they can take it from my cold dead hands.

I would be tempted to cash out of 401K and IRA, and pay the penalty, just to keep my savings out of the hands of the bureaucrats.

Anyone else agree?? Hate to pay the penalty to cash out, but once they take our funds, what’s to keep them from reneging on the promise that we get it back in retirement???

[cgbg]

Don’t worry—you will love it when they do it.

You see, they will be war bonds after some nasty false flags have hit the homeland, and you don’t want to be unpatriotic now do you?

:-(

[Lorianne]

You might be paying a bigger penalty leaving it in.
Hard to say.
It’s a crapshoot.

It is a worry though.

[SkyPilot]

Even Forbes has warned it is coming:

Watch Out: Your 401(k) Is Being Targeted

[utahagen]

“I would be tempted to cash out of 401K and IRA, and pay the penalty, just to keep my savings out of the hands of the bureaucrats.”

Me, too, and this is how I'd do it. I wouldn't cash out of my 401K while I'm working at my current job because cashing-out means you'd take the penalty hit up front. When you leave a job, your 401K money can go to you directly and you have 100 days to roll it over into a new 401K account. What I would do is NOT roll it over; I'd put it into real estate or stocks or bank accounts of under 10k. I wouldn't report it on my tax return, reasoning that my former employer would report my having cashed it out, so I wouldn't need to report it. If the IRS eventually came after me for the penalty or income tax on it, I'd go to a lawyer and then make a payment plan with the IRS. However, I have heard the IRS often doesn't track the cashed-out 401Ks.

In any case, I no longer trust that the government won't tax/seize 401ks, which, after people turn 70, are not supposed to be taxed. Also, I predict eventually people who are merely middle class won't get social security. So, no social security, and your 401k is taxed — perhaps heavily.

Yes, I'd consider not rolling over my 401k the next time I switch jobs.

[Alberta's Child]

The laws surrounding IRAs and 401(k) accounts are very complex. I believe there are some creative ways to "cash out" of these instruments without paying the penalties, if it is done correctly and the transactions all meet the letter of the law. It's important to remember that the tax code may treat three different parts of your retirement savings differently. These three include:

1. Tax-deferred income that you contributed to your retirement plan.

2. Matching contributions from your employer(s).

3. Tax-deferred growth is the third element of your retirement plan.

I'm not a lawyer or a CPA, but a good one should be able to provide some guidance on this.

[GeaugaRepublican]

If you borrow against your 401 K they will not be able to take your money....all that is in the account is “a note”.

[Engedi]

I know I am so tempted to retire and take a lump sum and keep it in safe at home.

[doldrumsforgop]

“what’s to keep them from reneging on the promise that we get it back in retirement???”

Get it back? What does that mean? It is your money, not the governments. you just haven’t paid taxes on it, but it is still yours.

The worst that can happen is for them to claim the taxes on it.