Hummmmmmmm...just looking it over, it seems substantial. Don't see how many branches are involved though...how many branches does a small to medium bank usually have? complete list of banks
<< <i>Hummmmmmmm...just looking it over, it seems substantial. Don't see how many branches are involved though...how many branches does a small to medium bank usually have? complete list of banks >>
You have to read the press release for each bank. FDIC and Washington would rather you think of it as one bank closing instead of the actual 8 branches that had their doors locked. If they closed Bank of America in your hometown, how many banks would they really be closing?
I have interviews with two banks and a credit union on Monday. Wish me luck.
The bank closings are not a good thing but if there's a silver lining in the clouds it's that the money is insured bu the FDIC and there are successful banks lined up to buy the belly up banks from the FDIC.
From what I understand the buyers wait to buy from the FDIC for a much cheaper price than dealing with the failing bank before it finally goes down. In many cases the buyer is lined up before the dead bank officially closes. Usually if a bank buys that fast then they are going to keep the doors of that location open and just switch the name on the building for all that the customers will know.
ETA- this is me parroting what I've been told by others in banking. I have not seen it first hand.
Was watching on the 10 o'clock news here in Chicago how they transformed Broadway Bank into a branch of MB Financial Bank. They waited until the normal closing hour, locked the doors, and started stripping the name off the glass door. Pre-made signs went up over the outdoor signs, and new nameplates on the ATM machines. It was all carefully planned.
TD
Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
<< <i>A rep from the FDIC indicated on CNBC, Friday, that they anticipate to close approx. 150 banks in 2010. 100 to go and counting.... >>
Only 52 so far this year. Per Friday's press release on Broadway Bank: "Broadway Bank is the 52nd FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the fifth in Illinois."
During the 1920s and early 1930s (before tough banking regulation by Congress) average annual bank failures were approximately 500. Many of those had more than one branch, although interstate banking was generally prohibited. Depositors lost nearly everything in theses failures. The double liability provisions in effect had little benefit for depositors or loan holders.
Following banking regulatory reform in the 1930s, failures were few. That continued through huge deficit spending of WW-II and the Regan administration, and even the Savings and Loan crisis of the 1980s had limited impact on commercial banks.
After restrictions on risk management, investment oversight and other activities were lifted in the mid-1990s, banks began to increase their profits through higher risk and lower lending standards. Banks also opened brokerage and insurance subsidiaries, something that harkened back to some of the accentuating factors of the Great Depression. Bankers were given more rope, and they nearly hung the entire economy with it.
Without the reforms made 80 years ago, there would be no insurance for depositors; there would be no mechanism to quickly turn a failed bank over to a healthy one. There would be no way to prevent things such as Treas Sec Andrew Mellon allowing a fundamentally sound Pittsburg bank fail, so his Mellon Bank could buy it’s assets cheaply.
Current crisis was set up by the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act led by Phil Grahmm (whose wife was an auditor at Enron), Chis Dodd, and the entire Clinton administration at the request (lobbying/donations) of the banking industry. Removing these restrictions on the banking industry allowed them to merge with brokerage firms and start gambling with other peoples money. Once they had the legal right to do this they developed all kinds of exotic products (derivatives, CDSs, etc.) to gamble on. This, along with artifically low interest rates thanks to a complicit Greenspan and federal housing agencies, fueled a rapid growth in real estate demand and the rest is history. And now they are trying to do it all over again, this time with equities instead of real estate. You would be surprised at the number of people currently borrowing money to invest in stocks and ETFs. ETFs are in a lot of cases nothing more than another derivative. We need the Glass-Steagall Act and nothing less to protect our savings and our retirements from these vultures who have Congress helping them with the theft. Once they have wiped out the small Wall St. investors they WILL be coming after the only thing left - our pensions and retirement accounts. And this is why you cannot go wrong with possession of physical precious metals.
<< <i>I have interviews with two banks and a credit union on Monday. Wish me luck.
The bank closings are not a good thing but if there's a silver lining in the clouds it's that the money is insured bu the FDIC and there are successful banks lined up to buy the belly up banks from the FDIC. >>
And where do you think the FDIC gets this money. They take it from you and I with higher taxes and higher bank fees. Good luck, I hope your trade is "locksmith."
I've jinxed my second bank in Chicago. The first was Park National, which is now USB and then yesterday, Lincoln Savings Bank went belly up. Too bad. I've banked at Lincoln for countless years.
"Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world." PBShelley
While banks that have been shut down by the FDIC normally reopen under another name with little or no interruptions in service it is important to note this is done so at a huge cost to the taxpayers. Friday's Broadway Band for example swallowed up $394.3 million of the FDIC's funds. Now, since there is no interruption of service in the case of Broadway Bank as it has been taken over by MB Financial Bank, and the depositor's money is still there, just where did the $393.4 million in FDIC funds go?
The FDIC absorbs the hit or difference. While the FDIC is federally regulated insurance it is not provided for free by tax payers. Banks pay a nice sum to obtain the FDIC coverage.
Changing the subject, my interviews for yesterday ended up being with four banks and two credit unions. Both credit unions made offers. The banks are much bigger institutions with a more drawn out hiring process so who knows where I stand at the moment with them. I was very impressed with both credit unions due to their focus on the local community. The banks, not so much.
<< <i>The FDIC absorbs the hit or difference. While the FDIC is federally regulated insurance it is not provided for free by tax payers. Banks pay a nice sum to obtain the FDIC coverage. >>
Again I ask, where do you think the banks get the money to fund FDIC. It comes from your fees and probably your bailout money provided to the banks. Also, FDIC has a $30M credit limit with Treasury and Dodd's finance bill would raise that limit to $500B (B as in billion). Bottom line is that you as a taxpayer and a bank customer are the FDIC's source of rescue/bailout money. Costs ALWAYS filter down to the consumer and the taxpayer. Now if the FDIC is going from a $30M credit need to a $500B credit need something big is being expected!
<< <i>The FDIC absorbs the hit or difference. While the FDIC is federally regulated insurance it is not provided for free by tax payers. Banks pay a nice sum to obtain the FDIC coverage. >>
Again I ask, where do you think the banks get the money to fund FDIC. It comes from your fees and probably your bailout money provided to the banks. Also, FDIC has a $30M credit limit with Treasury and Dodd's finance bill would raise that limit to $500B (B as in billion). Bottom line is that you as a taxpayer and a bank customer are the FDIC's source of rescue/bailout money. Costs ALWAYS filter down to the consumer and the taxpayer. Now if the FDIC is going from a $30M credit need to a $500B credit need something big is being expected!
I believe that the Credit Unions counter part to the FDIC is NCUA, who is also, per your above scenario, funded by the "Tax Payers." We fund, directly or indirectly, every aspect of our existence.
"Bongo drive 1984 Lincoln that looks like old coin dug from ground."
<< <i>Again I ask, where do you think the banks get the money to fund FDIC. It comes from your fees >>
Of course it does. There's no such thing as a multi-scale business in any sector that just eats a fee. The cost gets passed on to the consumer. Bank fees =/= tax payer money.
<< <i>and probably your bailout money provided to the banks. >>
A very small percentage of banks took TARP money and none of them have since gone under. The majority of which have either paid back in full with interest or have paid significant chunks. The banking crisis is nothing to just ignore like no big deal but in the bigger scheme of things it factors out to less than 1% of the GDP.
<< <i>Also, FDIC has a $30M credit limit with Treasury and Dodd's finance bill would raise that limit to $500B (B as in billion). Bottom line is that you as a taxpayer and a bank customer are the FDIC's source of rescue/bailout money. Costs ALWAYS filter down to the consumer and the taxpayer. Now if the FDIC is going from a $30M credit need to a $500B credit need something big is being expected! >>
Extending the credit limit is BS and doubtful to pass, at least to that degree.
<< <i>I believe that the Credit Unions counter part to the FDIC is NCUA, who is also, per your above scenario, funded by the "Tax Payers." We fund, directly or indirectly, every aspect of our existence. >>
Correct but it is important to remember that Credit Unions are not-for-profit and has a board of directors that were voted on by patrons of the CU.
<< <i>I believe that the Credit Unions counter part to the FDIC is NCUA, who is also, per your above scenario, funded by the "Tax Payers." We fund, directly or indirectly, every aspect of our existence. >>
Correct but it is important to remember that Credit Unions are not-for-profit and has a board of directors that were voted on by patrons of the CU. >>
The Credit Union's Charter may say not "for profit," however, NCUA will shut down or merge any Credit Union, that's not "profitable." Just like in banking, the # of CU's remaining, are less than half of what they were 10 years ago.
"Bongo drive 1984 Lincoln that looks like old coin dug from ground."
<< <i>Current crisis was set up by the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act led by Phil Grahmm (whose wife was an auditor at Enron), Chis Dodd, and the entire Clinton administration at the request (lobbying/donations) of the banking industry. Removing these restrictions on the banking industry allowed them to merge with brokerage firms and start gambling with other peoples money. Once they had the legal right to do this they developed all kinds of exotic products (derivatives, CDSs, etc.) to gamble on. This, along with artifically low interest rates thanks to a complicit Greenspan and federal housing agencies, fueled a rapid growth in real estate demand and the rest is history. And now they are trying to do it all over again, this time with equities instead of real estate. You would be surprised at the number of people currently borrowing money to invest in stocks and ETFs. ETFs are in a lot of cases nothing more than another derivative. We need the Glass-Steagall Act and nothing less to protect our savings and our retirements from these vultures who have Congress helping them with the theft. Once they have wiped out the small Wall St. investors they WILL be coming after the only thing left - our pensions and retirement accounts. And this is why you cannot go wrong with possession of physical precious metals. >>
Nice timecapsule db.
How does the small WS investor get wiped out? An upcoming deeper crash? At that point the gov't can swindle us out of what's left of our 401k's for some mediocre stipend that may never be paid out for the sake of saving our dollar/country/economy.
The small investor (Wall St. equities and retirement accounts invested in Wall St.) who holds and doesn't trade looses when the market crashes. The ones that regularly trade ususally get beat down by programmed trading from Wall St. The small investor who avoids Wall St. usually does it by keeping his money in a savings account or CD where he looses to artifically low interest rates. The small investor that trades PMs regularly stands to lose from the manipulation of prices. The only small investor who has a chance is the one who is into mining stocks and physical PMs for the long haul.
Here's a well known advisor's take on what's coming for your retirement money:
Robert Prechter Conquer the Crash Excerpt from Chapter 23, "What To Do With Your Pension Plan,"
"Make sure you fully understand all aspects of your government’s individual retirement plans. In the U.S., this includes such structures as IRAs, 401Ks and Keoghs. If you anticipate severe system-wide financial and political stresses, you may decide to liquidate any such plans and pay whatever penalty is required. Why? Because there are strings attached to the perk of having your money sheltered from taxes. You may do only what the government allows you to do with the money. It restricts certain investments and can change the list at any time. It charges a penalty for early withdrawal and can change the amount of the penalty at any time.
What is the worst that could happen? In Argentina, the government continued to spend more than it took in until it went broke trying to pay the interest on its debt. In December 2001, it seized $2.3 billion dollars worth of deposits in private pension funds to pay its bills. ...
With the retirement setup in the U.S., the government need not be as direct as Argentina’s. It need merely assert, after a stock market fall decimates many people’s savings, that stocks are too risky to hold for retirement purposes. Under the guise of protecting you, it could ban stocks and perhaps other investments in tax-exempt pension plans and restrict assets to one category: “safe” long-term U.S. Treasury bonds. Then it could raise the penalty of early withdrawal to 100 percent. Bingo. The government will have seized the entire $2 trillion -- or what’s left of it given a crash -- that today is held in government-sponsored, tax-deferred 401K private pension plans. I’m not saying it will happen, but it could, and wouldn’t you rather have your money safely under your own discretion? ..."
I have taken my retirement money and it is now under my own control - physical gold and silver and select mining stocks.
derryb Thanks, I have that book and remember that chapter. I haven't contributed in two years and have taken what would have gone into a retirement fund to buy PM's.
"It charges a penalty for early withdrawal and can change the amount of the penalty at any time."
So, you have 40K invested in a retirement account. Everyone knows you have it, including our leaders. The first thing that happens when you reach for it is you will likely pay a penalty for withdrawing it before you are eligible and they will also have a 20% IR s with holding before they will give you any money. Depending on how they do it, you lose 10% off the top for a penalty so you now have 36K and then you lose 20% of that until next April 15th when you can file it so now hope to get a check for 28.8K. You had 40K and when you get it back into your nest it has turned into 28.8K. Do you really think you:
(A) made 30% on your IRA investments and broke even
<< <i>"It charges a penalty for early withdrawal and can change the amount of the penalty at any time."
So, you have 40K invested in a retirement account. Everyone knows you have it, including our leaders. The first thing that happens when you reach for it is you will likely pay a penalty for withdrawing it before you are eligible and they will also have a 20% IR s with holding before they will give you any money. Depending on how they do it, you lose 10% off the top for a penalty so you now have 36K and then you lose 20% of that until next April 15th when you can file it so now hope to get a check for 28.8K. You had 40K and when you get it back into your nest it has turned into 28.8K. Do you really think you:
(A) made 30% on your IRA investments and broke even
(B) lost you hiney
(C) made money >>
Most retirement money is put away pre-tax, so this you have to pay tax on anyway. The only "fee" is the 10% early withdrawal fee, which you understand would be assessed before you opened the retirement plan. Your question is the same as this-----you make $10 per hour, but after withholding, medicare and social security taxes you now have $7. See choices above for answer.
Question you have to ask yourself when debating on cashing out an IRA is this: Will I pay more in taxes and penalty now or will I pay more later. There's little doubt that taxes are going to go up. They have to to support Washington spending. In addition, IRA's have there own tax rules that can be easily changed to the Government's benefit. I'm not taking any chance. "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst."
I would argue that if you were to pay taxes and penalty and get your cash and put it in physical bullion, you would be much better off three to five years down the road.
derryb
Posts: 36,217 ✭✭✭✭✭
Comments
<< <i>Hummmmmmmm...just looking it over, it seems substantial. Don't see how many branches are involved though...how many branches does a small to medium bank usually have? complete list of banks >>
You have to read the press release for each bank. FDIC and Washington would rather you think of it as one bank closing instead of the actual 8 branches that had their doors locked. If they closed Bank of America in your hometown, how many banks would they really be closing?
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
The bank closings are not a good thing but if there's a silver lining in the clouds it's that the money is insured bu the FDIC and there are successful banks lined up to buy the belly up banks from the FDIC.
ETA- this is me parroting what I've been told by others in banking. I have not seen it first hand.
TD
<< <i>A rep from the FDIC indicated on CNBC, Friday, that they anticipate to close approx. 150 banks in 2010. 100 to go and counting.... >>
Only 52 so far this year. Per Friday's press release on Broadway Bank: "Broadway Bank is the 52nd FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the fifth in Illinois."
FDIC Press Release
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
Following banking regulatory reform in the 1930s, failures were few. That continued through huge deficit spending of WW-II and the Regan administration, and even the Savings and Loan crisis of the 1980s had limited impact on commercial banks.
After restrictions on risk management, investment oversight and other activities were lifted in the mid-1990s, banks began to increase their profits through higher risk and lower lending standards. Banks also opened brokerage and insurance subsidiaries, something that harkened back to some of the accentuating factors of the Great Depression. Bankers were given more rope, and they nearly hung the entire economy with it.
Without the reforms made 80 years ago, there would be no insurance for depositors; there would be no mechanism to quickly turn a failed bank over to a healthy one. There would be no way to prevent things such as Treas Sec Andrew Mellon allowing a fundamentally sound Pittsburg bank fail, so his Mellon Bank could buy it’s assets cheaply.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
<< <i>I have interviews with two banks and a credit union on Monday. Wish me luck.
The bank closings are not a good thing but if there's a silver lining in the clouds it's that the money is insured bu the FDIC and there are successful banks lined up to buy the belly up banks from the FDIC. >>
And where do you think the FDIC gets this money. They take it from you and I with higher taxes and higher bank fees. Good luck, I hope your trade is "locksmith."
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
Changing the subject, my interviews for yesterday ended up being with four banks and two credit unions. Both credit unions made offers. The banks are much bigger institutions with a more drawn out hiring process so who knows where I stand at the moment with them. I was very impressed with both credit unions due to their focus on the local community. The banks, not so much.
<< <i>The FDIC absorbs the hit or difference. While the FDIC is federally regulated insurance it is not provided for free by tax payers. Banks pay a nice sum to obtain the FDIC coverage. >>
Again I ask, where do you think the banks get the money to fund FDIC. It comes from your fees and probably your bailout money provided to the banks. Also, FDIC has a $30M credit limit with Treasury and Dodd's finance bill would raise that limit to $500B (B as in billion). Bottom line is that you as a taxpayer and a bank customer are the FDIC's source of rescue/bailout money. Costs ALWAYS filter down to the consumer and the taxpayer. Now if the FDIC is going from a $30M credit need to a $500B credit need something big is being expected!
Bill Seeks to Let FDIC Borrow up to $500 Billion
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
<< <i>
<< <i>The FDIC absorbs the hit or difference. While the FDIC is federally regulated insurance it is not provided for free by tax payers. Banks pay a nice sum to obtain the FDIC coverage. >>
Again I ask, where do you think the banks get the money to fund FDIC. It comes from your fees and probably your bailout money provided to the banks. Also, FDIC has a $30M credit limit with Treasury and Dodd's finance bill would raise that limit to $500B (B as in billion). Bottom line is that you as a taxpayer and a bank customer are the FDIC's source of rescue/bailout money. Costs ALWAYS filter down to the consumer and the taxpayer. Now if the FDIC is going from a $30M credit need to a $500B credit need something big is being expected!
Bill Seeks to Let FDIC Borrow up to $500 Billion >>
I believe that the Credit Unions counter part to the FDIC is NCUA, who is also, per your above scenario, funded by the "Tax Payers." We fund, directly or indirectly, every aspect of our existence.
<< <i>We fund, directly or indirectly, every aspect of our existence. >>
And that of many others. Unfortunately this is overlooked by most voters. There is no free meal.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
<< <i>Again I ask, where do you think the banks get the money to fund FDIC. It comes from your fees >>
Of course it does. There's no such thing as a multi-scale business in any sector that just eats a fee. The cost gets passed on to the consumer. Bank fees =/= tax payer money.
<< <i>and probably your bailout money provided to the banks. >>
A very small percentage of banks took TARP money and none of them have since gone under. The majority of which have either paid back in full with interest or have paid significant chunks. The banking crisis is nothing to just ignore like no big deal but in the bigger scheme of things it factors out to less than 1% of the GDP.
<< <i>Also, FDIC has a $30M credit limit with Treasury and Dodd's finance bill would raise that limit to $500B (B as in billion). Bottom line is that you as a taxpayer and a bank customer are the FDIC's source of rescue/bailout money. Costs ALWAYS filter down to the consumer and the taxpayer. Now if the FDIC is going from a $30M credit need to a $500B credit need something big is being expected! >>
Extending the credit limit is BS and doubtful to pass, at least to that degree.
<< <i>I believe that the Credit Unions counter part to the FDIC is NCUA, who is also, per your above scenario, funded by the "Tax Payers." We fund, directly or indirectly, every aspect of our existence. >>
Correct but it is important to remember that Credit Unions are not-for-profit and has a board of directors that were voted on by patrons of the CU.
<< <i>
<< <i>I believe that the Credit Unions counter part to the FDIC is NCUA, who is also, per your above scenario, funded by the "Tax Payers." We fund, directly or indirectly, every aspect of our existence. >>
Correct but it is important to remember that Credit Unions are not-for-profit and has a board of directors that were voted on by patrons of the CU. >>
The Credit Union's Charter may say not "for profit," however, NCUA will shut down or merge any Credit Union, that's not "profitable." Just like in banking, the # of CU's remaining, are less than half of what they were 10 years ago.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
<< <i>Current crisis was set up by the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act led by Phil Grahmm (whose wife was an auditor at Enron), Chis Dodd, and the entire Clinton administration at the request (lobbying/donations) of the banking industry. Removing these restrictions on the banking industry allowed them to merge with brokerage firms and start gambling with other peoples money. Once they had the legal right to do this they developed all kinds of exotic products (derivatives, CDSs, etc.) to gamble on. This, along with artifically low interest rates thanks to a complicit Greenspan and federal housing agencies, fueled a rapid growth in real estate demand and the rest is history. And now they are trying to do it all over again, this time with equities instead of real estate. You would be surprised at the number of people currently borrowing money to invest in stocks and ETFs. ETFs are in a lot of cases nothing more than another derivative. We need the Glass-Steagall Act and nothing less to protect our savings and our retirements from these vultures who have Congress helping them with the theft. Once they have wiped out the small Wall St. investors they WILL be coming after the only thing left - our pensions and retirement accounts. And this is why you cannot go wrong with possession of physical precious metals. >>
Nice timecapsule db.
How does the small WS investor get wiped out? An upcoming deeper crash? At that point the gov't can swindle us out of what's left of our 401k's for some mediocre stipend that may never be paid out for the sake of saving our dollar/country/economy.
Here's a well known advisor's take on what's coming for your retirement money:
Robert Prechter
Conquer the Crash
Excerpt from Chapter 23, "What To Do With Your Pension Plan,"
"Make sure you fully understand all aspects of your government’s individual retirement plans. In the U.S., this includes such structures as IRAs, 401Ks and Keoghs. If you anticipate severe system-wide financial and political stresses, you may decide to liquidate any such plans and pay whatever penalty is required. Why? Because there are strings attached to the perk of having your money sheltered from taxes. You may do only what the government allows you to do with the money. It restricts certain investments and can change the list at any time. It charges a penalty for early withdrawal and can change the amount of the penalty at any time.
What is the worst that could happen? In Argentina, the government continued to spend more than it took in until it went broke trying to pay the interest on its debt. In December 2001, it seized $2.3 billion dollars worth of deposits in private pension funds to pay its bills. ...
With the retirement setup in the U.S., the government need not be as direct as Argentina’s. It need merely assert, after a stock market fall decimates many people’s savings, that stocks are too risky to hold for retirement purposes. Under the guise of protecting you, it could ban stocks and perhaps other investments in tax-exempt pension plans and restrict assets to one category: “safe” long-term U.S. Treasury bonds. Then it could raise the penalty of early withdrawal to 100 percent. Bingo. The government will have seized the entire $2 trillion -- or what’s left of it given a crash -- that today is held in government-sponsored, tax-deferred 401K private pension plans. I’m not saying it will happen, but it could, and wouldn’t you rather have your money safely under your own discretion? ..."
I have taken my retirement money and it is now under my own control - physical gold and silver and select mining stocks.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
Thanks, I have that book and remember that chapter. I haven't contributed in two years and have taken what would have gone into a retirement fund to buy PM's.
So, you have 40K invested in a retirement account. Everyone knows you have it, including our leaders. The first thing that happens when you reach for it is you will likely pay a penalty for withdrawing it before you are eligible and they will also have a 20% IR s with holding before they will give you any money. Depending on how they do it, you lose 10% off the top for a penalty so you now have 36K and then you lose 20% of that until next April 15th when you can file it so now hope to get a check for 28.8K. You had 40K and when you get it back into your nest it has turned into 28.8K. Do you really think you:
(A) made 30% on your IRA investments and broke even
(B) lost you hiney
(C) made money
<< <i>"It charges a penalty for early withdrawal and can change the amount of the penalty at any time."
So, you have 40K invested in a retirement account. Everyone knows you have it, including our leaders. The first thing that happens when you reach for it is you will likely pay a penalty for withdrawing it before you are eligible and they will also have a 20% IR s with holding before they will give you any money. Depending on how they do it, you lose 10% off the top for a penalty so you now have 36K and then you lose 20% of that until next April 15th when you can file it so now hope to get a check for 28.8K. You had 40K and when you get it back into your nest it has turned into 28.8K. Do you really think you:
(A) made 30% on your IRA investments and broke even
(B) lost you hiney
(C) made money >>
Most retirement money is put away pre-tax, so this you have to pay tax on anyway. The only "fee" is the 10% early withdrawal fee, which you understand would be assessed before you opened the retirement plan. Your question is the same as this-----you make $10 per hour, but after withholding, medicare and social security taxes you now have $7. See choices above for answer.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
Build up to 80K 1993-2001/2 market crash cut in half to 40K
2002 to 2008 build up to 60K stock market crash cut to 40K again!
2010 almost back to 55K built back up.
This was all market "corrections" so my faith in 401K retirement = zero.
I would argue that if you were to pay taxes and penalty and get your cash and put it in physical bullion, you would be much better off three to five years down the road.
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt