By Mike Rowan, 09/25/2009
Obama proposes to lift penalties for limited IRA, 401k, 403b withdrawals
I was watching the Presidential debate last night and heard Barack Obama mention that he would implement a plan where individuals would have access to some of their 401k, IRA, 403b, or 457 Plan money, penalty free. This would help them to have access to some funds during this financial crisis. I think that this is actually a pretty good idea, even though I am not an Obama supporter. However, I would like to see him also come up with a plan where they could get this money back in their 401k or other retirement plan as well. It is well known that the tax deferred retirement plans, such as a 401k or 403b, are the best way to accumulate wealth for retirement. Here is an excerpt from an article that I googled this morning that lays out the details of his plan.
Here is the Article
Democrat Barack Obama is proposing lifting penalties for withdrawals of up to $10,000 from retirement accounts, such as 401k, 403b, and 457 plans, and imposing a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures on some homeowners as part of a plan to boost the economy and aid middle-income taxpayers.
The economic crisis is dominating the presidential campaign, and polls show voters are favoring Obama over Republican candidate John McCain to deal with it. The Illinois senator has opened a 10-percentage point lead over McCain, 53 percent to 43 percent, among likely voters nationally in a Washington Post-ABC News poll taken Oct. 8-11. That's up from a 4-point lead in a Post-ABC poll taken at the end of September.
Foreclosures
The foreclosure moratorium would apply to banks that are getting capital through the $700 billion rescue plan approved by Congress. It would impose a 90-day ban on foreclosures on homeowners who are trying to keep current on their mortgages.
Obama, 47, calls for a lending facility for states and localities that are having trouble borrowing. Obama, 47, endorsed a proposal by McCain to suspend rules requiring retirees to begin liquidating Individual Retirement Accounts and 401(k)s at age 70 1/2 to avoid selling assets while markets are down. He would expand it to allow withdrawals of up to 15 percent, with a maximum of $10,000, without facing the tax penalties such withdrawals usually carry.
He also endorsed suspending taxes on unemployment insurance benefits.
McCain, an Arizona senator, held a rally in Virginia Beach this morning along with running mate Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska. He portrayed himself as the underdog in the contest and emphasized his experience. "The next president won't have time to get used to the office," McCain, 72, said. "He will have to act immediately."
McCain didn't present any new proposals on the economy. He repeated his plan to buy up troubled home loans as a way to help beleaguered borrowers.
"I'm not going to spend $700 billion of your money just bailing out the Wall Street bankers and brokers who got us into this mess," McCain said. "I'm going to spend a lot of that money to bring relief to you, and I'm not going to wait 60 days to start doing it."
The individual state unemployment rates in the U.S are August unemployment numbers by state unemployment, unemployment rates, unemployment claims, and filing for unemployment benefits state by state.
