Savings & Pensions

Wall Street Journal - Despite Costs, More People Raid 401(k)s for Cash

Financially stretched workers are increasingly breaking into their retirement accounts to get cash.

Over the past couple of decades, the 401(k) account and its brethren have become the main retirement savings vehicles for millions of Americans. But as the credit crunch and declining home values limit many types of consumer loans, a growing number of workers are tapping into these accounts as if they were piggy banks.

Eighteen percent of workers had a loan outstanding from their retirement plan in 2007, up from 11% in 2006, according to a survey to be released today by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, a nonprofit corporation funded by Aegon NV's Transamerica Life Insurance Co.