See A Boost In Your 401(k)? Expert Has Advice On What To Do, And What Not To Do

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It's a new thing on social media – people posting on their 401(k).

With the stock market booming, some question what to do with the money. CBS2's Alice Gainer got some advice from an expert.

Some people are not shy about revealing their financial information for all the worldwide web to see – on Twitter or Reddit. People post their 401(k) goals and some say they have noticed a boost.

"It's doing great," one investor said.

"I actually just checked it because I heard they were doing well, and I looked and it was, so I don't have anything to compare it to," said Shannon Frawley of Westchester County.

President Donald Trump touted the states of people's 401(k) during the State of the Union Address Tuesday night.

"The great news for Americans - 401(k) retirement pension and college savings accounts have gone through the roof," Trump said.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 14 percent of all employees offer 401(k) or other defined contribution plans to their employees. And according to the most recent figures available, only 41 percent of those employees contribute.

Most of the people CBS2 stopped on the street Tuesday do not have a 401(k).

"No, I don't," one passerby said. "I'm retired and I have a pension from the City of New York."

But pensions are passé. Few are offered anymore.

And some conceded that they have no retirement savings plan at all.

"I'm in between jobs right now so and basically I spent it," one passerby said.

Another simply said, "No."

If you do not have a 401(k), experts say you do have options, such as putting money in a traditional individual retirement account (IRA) or a Roth IRA.

But if you do have a 401(k) right now and are feeling the euphoria, Bob Fuest of Fuest & Klein Wealth Advisors had a warning.

"What's really going on is people are just seeing inflation of all asset classes," he said.

Fuest said you should not just sit on your 401(k). You should restructure your portfolio now.

"The bond market in particular right now is in a bubble in many cases, especially the municipal bond market," Fuest said, "and so if they hold bonds and they hold bond mutual funds, they might want to take a look at the holdings within those mutual funds."

He adds that you should make sure you are contributing the maximum, or as much as you possibly can – even beyond what you company matches – because it grows tax free.

And even if you are feeling confident in your 401(k) total, Fuest urges against withdrawing any money from it for a vacation or a home.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.