I have a couple of guesses why this is happening.
None of them are “This is happening because the economy is strong and getting stronger.”
Americans continue to ransack their retirement savings, survey finds
Kerry Hannon · Senior Columnist
Sat, November 11, 2023 at 7:30 AM EST·4 min read
The ravaging of retirement accounts is on a roll.
The number of participants taking hardship withdrawals from their 401(k) was up 13% in the third quarter versus the second quarter . . . and up 27% compared to the number of withdrawals during the first three months of the year. . . .
“In looking at our data across 401(k) plans, economic hardships continue to be a factor,” Lisa Margeson, managing director, Retirement Research and Insights Group at Bank of America, told Yahoo Finance. . . .
According to the Bank of America survey, the average worker hardship withdrawal from a 401(k) plan in the third quarter of the year was $5,070, on par with the average withdrawal in previous quarters this year.
Borrowing from retirement savings was also up. . . .
I think one big reason is to financially support their loser kids who “followed their heart” and got stupid degrees and have nothing but student loan debt to show for them. If those parents gave them ■■■■■■■■ advice like “do what you love and the money will follow” they deserve it.
I can’t say you’re wrong.
But nothing about that increased recently has it?
By May 2022 indoor mask mandates were at an end (COVID shut down effectively over) and yet hardship withdrawals continued to rise to an all-time high through October 2022 (nearly 1/2% per month from CNBC chart below) and have been rising since (article above.)
Not every family has seen their wages rise. Even those who have, didn’t see enough to cover price increases. The credit cards are about maxed out for more people and the 401K/403(b), 457, IRA is about all that is left for many just trying to make ends meet…
