Smart 401k President Scott Holsopple was quoted in Kelly Greene’s “Ask Encore” column in the Wall Street Journal. In A 401(k) Borrower Can’t Benefit From Fund Losses, Greene’s experts responded to a question about accounting for 401(k) loan defaults when the fund has lost it’s value. Holsopple explained that, “If you can't repay the loan, it would be considered ordinary income on which you would owe income tax, plus a 10% penalty if you are under age 59½.” However, “even if you have a 401(k) loan that goes into default, it won't leave a bad mark on your credit, because you were borrowing from yourself,” he added. Read more.
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Scott Revare was quoted by journalist David Burge in his article Swallow Hard: What To Do If Hard Times Scramble Your Retirement. Speaking of the trend of struggling corporations to suspend their 401(k) matches, Scott says, “Even though they've taken away the match, you still have to save for retirement. “It makes your portion of the contribution all the more important - and the contribution ceilings are higher than those for IRAs.” With regard to how you invest your contributions, it depends on how much time you have before retirement. "The key thing is how much time you have to wait out this market decline," Revare said. "This is obviously a very severe recession we're in now. Over time, in every other situation we've ever had, the market has eventually reached new highs."
El Paso Times, January 11, 2009
In Smart Money Moves for 2009: Get Back to Financial Basics, David Burge offers readers some financial tips. In addition to building an emergency fund and paying off credit card balances, delaying large purchases and continuing to save for retirement. He quoted Scott Revare, who suggests taking a look at your workplace retirement plan sometime soon. Often retirement plans add or drop mutual funds as investment choices at the beginning of the year. “Usually, the new funds coming into a plan are the best-performing funds,” Revare said. “Even the best mutual funds ‘took a beating’ in 2008. What's important is to look at how you're diversified and allocated across different types of funds.”
El Paso Times, January 4, 2009
David Burge’s article Create Emergency Fund, Experts Urge explores ways people can save money, both for emergencies and for retirement. Scott Revare, a frequent expert resource for journalist David Burge, said now is the ideal time to contribute to a retirement savings plan such as a 401(k). “Stock prices for many blue-chip companies are where they were 10 years ago. The ideal time to contribute to your 401(k) is when the market is relatively low. “Stocks are the only thing people don't like to buy when they're on sale.”
El Paso Times, September 21, 2008
In Penalties for Cashing in 401(k) Avoidable, David Burge explores options for what to do with 401(k) investments when changing jobs. Scott Revare, interviewed for the article, said cashing out your 401(k) doesn't make sense financially. The only ‘viable options’ are to roll your money into an IRA, keep it where it is with your old employer's plan or roll it over into your new employer's plan. “It's not an easy decision," Revare said. "There's no slam-dunk answer. We usually counsel people to roll their money into an IRA so they have more fund choices and more control over their account.”
El Paso Times, August 17, 2008
David Burge interview Scott Revare for his article, Despite Tough Times, Keep on Saving. Revare’s advice was to keep on saving, and not to cut back. “It's tax-deferred; it takes less of a bite out of your paycheck than other ways of saving because it's coming out on a pretax basis,” Revare said. “Plus, there's the employer match.”
El Paso Times, July 20, 2008
In Weigh Risks of Stock Market Volatility, journalist David Burge looks at what advisors should do in the emerging bear market. He quotes Scott Revare, who said, “If your time horizon for investing is more than five years and you have a diversified portfolio, ‘stick to your guns.’” He added that if your time horizon is less than five years, you should be in more conservative investments.
El Paso Times, July 13, 2008
Scott Revare was quoted in David Burge’s article, Economy Magnifies Retirement Trepidation. Revare advises against early withdrawals from one’s 401(k) and encourages people not to stop their regular contributions - even during tough times.
