FAITH-BASED RETIREMENT PLANNING

An option to keep your values in check with your plan at work.

Most who have retirement plans at work have little to no choices if they want to invest according to their faith, values, or beliefs inside with their employer sponsored retirement plan.  Whether you have a 401(k), 403(b) or some other form of retirement plan, most of these plans offer mutual funds which rarely screen for important moral or social issues.  Thus this leaves faith-based investors with three difficult choices:

1) Do not participate in the plan

2) Do research and find the least offensive choices

3) Ignore your faith, morals, and values and invest whereever

What if there was another choice?

For many there is!  If your plan allows what’s called an in-service withdrawal, you may be able to roll your money out of a 401(k) into an IRA and invest wherever you choose.  This allows for you to invest in more faith friendly options.

Can you withdraw money from your 401(k) while you are still employed? Not everyone should; not everyone can. However, if you can, it may mean that you can effectively implement part of your retirement income plan before you retire.

If your 401(k) plan permits it, you can take an in-service withdrawal and redirect some of your 401(k) funds into another investment vehicle that screens your investments.  You can then invest in stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, and many other choices that meet your criteria.

The reasons why. A non-hardship withdrawal can provide you with early access to a portion of your retirement assets, freeing you to manage them as you wish. If the mix of funds in your 401(k) have taken a big hit lately, you might also be wondering how some of those assets would do in other kinds of investments, especially those with less risk exposure.

Need helping figuring out if this option is right for you?  Don’t hestitate to email me at info@jayperoni.com. I’d be more than happy to help you sort out your options!