Never withdraw from your retirement savings account

A study published by Hewitt Associates says that 45% of Americans who left their jobs last year actually committed the biggest mistake of their retirement planning - they cashed out their savings instead of rolling it over to an IRA.

The main rule to remember is that you should not touch your 401(K) unless you are starving to death. While the rules do allow you to borrow for some other emergencies, the best thing to do, if you can, is to just leave it there. Not only are there tax implications of early withdrawal, your retirement planning is totally screwed up.

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