Divorce, debt complicate 401(k) question

Saving for retirement can be challenging, but throw a divorce and some debt into the mix, and it gets almost impossibly complicated.

That's the issue facing this week's letter-writer, who wishes to remain anonymous.

She wrote in an e-mail that she is 64 years old, but she doesn't plan on retiring soon "because I'm single, mentally alert and very healthy.

"A recent divorce left me a debt of $24,000," she wrote. "I purchased a home ($980/month), but after utilities, taxes, bank payment, 10 percent tithing and day-to-day expenses, it's pretty tight."

She wrote that she tries to put about $200 a month from her pension plan into savings so she has money to pay taxes at the end of the year.

"I am currently putting 5 percent of my income ($46,000) into my 401(k) ($88 every two weeks), but the interest on my loan is about $180/month. Should I stop putting money into my 401(k) and pay off my loan quicker? I try to pay about $300/month on the loan," she wrote.

"Since the debt interest and 401(k) deposit are about equal, I feel like I'm standing still. Unfortunately, I've had to withdraw from my 401(k), so I only have about $10,000 left in that account. I realize that my taxable income will increase, because the money I've been putting into my 401(k) is not taxed. My take-home is $1,300 every two weeks.

"How can I pay off this loan quickly?"

A couple of days later, she sent me another e-mail with a follow-up question: "Would withdrawing $10,000 from my 401(k) to reduce my debt be a viable option?"

This is a new variation on a theme I've written about before. For help with answers to this reader's questions, I contacted Jeff Salisbury, principal at Independent 401(k) Advisors, a fee-only advisory firm with offices in Cache and Davis counties.

Jeff says this reader's situation is unique, and his advice runs contrary to what he normally recommends.

First, he says he would "absolutely" suggest that our reader stop contributing to her 401(k) and divert that money to loan payments.

"The real guiding principle there is ... $88 at age 64 really is not going to make that big of a difference to her ultimate retirement, but it could make a pretty significant difference in clearing that debt," Jeff says.

Along the same lines, he says she may want to take the $10,000 out of her 401(k) to put an even larger dent in her debt. She could do so without taking a hit from the government, because she already has passed the age, 59 1/2, required to make penalty-free withdrawals.

However, whether she can do so without other restrictions depends on her company's plan. Some let employees make "in-service withdrawals" from their 401(k) accounts if they are over 59 1/2 but still working. Other companies do not, meaning our reader would need to take out a 401(k) loan to get her money.

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