- Understanding the Basics
- Basic Investment Concepts
- The Nuts and Bolts of a 401(k) plan
- Managing Your 401(k) Investments
- Pre-Retirement Withdrawals from Your 401(k)
- Your 401(k) When Switching Jobs
- Distributions from Your 401(k) at Retirement
- An Overview of 403(b) and Section 457 Plans
- Glossary
Account Balance: Your total value in the 401(k) plan, including contributions and earnings as well as any rollover amounts transferred into the plan.
After-Tax: Money you have already paid income tax on. Some 401(k) plans allow you to contribute after-tax money to the plan.
Annuity: An investment that pays out a fixed sum of money each year.
Asset Allocation: Diversifying your assets to minimize risk.
Beneficiary: The person(s) you have designated to receive benefits when you die.
Closed-End Fund: A fund you must hold until maturity or sell on an exchange.
Contributions: The amount of your pay that you elect to put into your 401(k) plan.
Direct Rollover: Rollovers to and from retirement plans where the money is directly transferred from plan to plan.
Diversification: The concept of reducing risk by investing your money in different types of investments.
Dollar-Cost Averaging: Investing fixed sums of money over a long time period to reduce the risk of buying investments at peak prices.
401(k) Loan: Money borrowed from your 401(k) account.
Hardship Withdrawal: Taking money out of your account if you have an immediate and heavy financial need. You will be required to pay ordinary income tax and possibly a 10% penalty on the withdrawal.
Individual Retirement Annuity: An annuity contract, issued by an insurance company, which meets specific tax requirements.
Investment Options: The different funds that you can choose from to invest your money.
Liquidity: The ease with which something can be converted to cash.
Lump-Sum Distribution: A distribution to you in one taxable year of all the money in your retirement plan.
Maturity: When an investment comes due.
Open-end Fund: A fund you can freely buy and sell from a bank, broker, or mutual fund company.
Portfolio: Refers to the makeup of all of your investments, both inside and outside your 401(k) plan.
Pre-tax Contribution: Money you have not paid tax on. Your taxable income is reduced by the amount of pre-tax money you contribute to your 401(k) plan.
Promissory Note: A signed promise to repay the amount of money you have borrowed from the plan.
Prospectus: A document giving detailed information about an investment to prospective buyers.
Qualified Retirement Plan: A plan that meets complex requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to qualified plans and the resulting earnings are tax-deferred.
Risk Tolerance: A measure of your ability to risk principal for a higher return on your investments.
Rollover: A transfer of the money in your 401(k) account into another retirement plan or IRA.
Roth IRA: A type of Individual Retirement Account (IRA) that will allow you to save money on a tax-free basis, provided you meet the eligibility requirements and the holding period rules.
Tax-Deferred: Money that will be taxed at some point in the future.
Tax-Free: Money that will not be taxed.
Time Horizon: The amount of time between now and one of your financial goals.
Vesting: An employee's non-forfeitable right to benefits or monies earned. Pensions and profit-sharing plans have vesting schedules, typically defining how long an employee has to be an active participant in a plan before he or she is entitled to a portion or all of the benefits earned.
Withholding: The amount taken out of your distribution to be used to pay income taxes.
Investment and insurance products and services are offered through Osaic Institutions, INC. Member FINRA/SIPC. TMB Financial Solutions is a trade name of The Milford Bank. Osaic and The Milford Bank are not affiliated.
NOT A DEPOSIT | NOT FDIC INSURED | NOT GUARANTEED BY THE BANK |
NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY | MAY GO DOWN IN VALUE |