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"Fidelity Investments reported that for the fourth quarter of 2018, there was a 28.6 percent drop in the number of 401(k) millionaires. The number of people with $1 million or more in their 401(k) employer plans declined to 133,800, down from 187,400 in the third quarter, according to Fidelity, one of the country’s largest administrators of workplace retirement accounts."
That's a VERY large percentage.....drop!
Yet we are told that we are in the most unbelievable economy ever. Something does not compute here. The Fed stops raising rates to normal....the stock market is far below what it was a year ago and yet, somehow, a few people are claiming that this is the "best ever".
It's hard to call Fidelity data "fake news". It is what it is. There is no reason to think that Vanguard and other holders of IRAs and the like have similar data.
"then came the storm. President Trump started his trade war with China. Investors worried about economic slowdown in the U.S. and abroad and the Federal Reserve continued inching up interest rates."
"Fidelity Investments reported that for the fourth quarter of 2018, there was a 28.6 percent drop in the number of 401(k) millionaires. The number of people with $1 million or more in their 401(k) employer plans declined to 133,800, down from 187,400 in the third quarter, according to Fidelity, one of the country’s largest administrators of workplace retirement accounts."
That's a VERY large percentage.....drop!
Yet we are told that we are in the most unbelievable economy ever.
Non-sequitur.
The 4th Quarter is comprised of the months of October, November and December.
That is when the largest number of people retire.
And, very large numbers of people are retiring, more so than in the last 20-60 years, because this particular group -- the Baby Boomers -- represent a large chunk of the population.
When people retire, two things typically happen, one they stop contributing to their 401(k) and two, they make withdraws from their 401(k).
It's only 53,600 people and if you interviewed them, you'd probably find they celebrated their retirement with a party, or took a vacation with their spouse, or a cruise, or sold their home and relocated, or sold their home and down-sized to a smaller house, or a condo, or a luxury apartment in their area, because that's what people who have money do, and all those things involve costs.
It's not an indicator of a bad economy, in spite of your differently twisted spin on the subject.
"Fidelity Investments reported that for the fourth quarter of 2018, there was a 28.6 percent drop in the number of 401(k) millionaires. The number of people with $1 million or more in their 401(k) employer plans declined to 133,800, down from 187,400 in the third quarter, according to Fidelity, one of the country’s largest administrators of workplace retirement accounts."
That's a VERY large percentage.....drop!
Yet we are told that we are in the most unbelievable economy ever. Something does not compute here. The Fed stops raising rates to normal....the stock market is far below what it was a year ago and yet, somehow, a few people are claiming that this is the "best ever".
It's hard to call Fidelity data "fake news". It is what it is. There is no reason to think that Vanguard and other holders of IRAs and the like have similar data.
"then came the storm. President Trump started his trade war with China. Investors worried about economic slowdown in the U.S. and abroad and the Federal Reserve continued inching up interest rates."
The thread title is misleading if not outright fake. The link cites 401Ks only, not assets as a whole. You would have to know assets as a whole, especially housing prices, to determine how many 'paper millionaires' were really done away with.
"My 401(k) has dropped to $997,000," said Grant S., a software developer from Massachusetts whose account is administered by Fidelity. "At the lowest point, it was off close to $100,000. I've been through a couple of market downturns over the years and learned that all you can really do is grimly hold on."
A lot of those people were taking some, or all, of their 401K money, and switching it into a backdoor Roth IRA fearing that loophole would be done away with.
The 4th Quarter is comprised of the months of October, November and December.
That is when the largest number of people retire.
And, very large numbers of people are retiring, more so than in the last 20-60 years, because this particular group -- the Baby Boomers -- represent a large chunk of the population.
When people retire, two things typically happen, one they stop contributing to their 401(k) and two, they make withdraws from their 401(k).
It's only 53,600 people and if you interviewed them, you'd probably find they celebrated their retirement with a party, or took a vacation with their spouse, or a cruise, or sold their home and relocated, or sold their home and down-sized to a smaller house, or a condo, or a luxury apartment in their area, because that's what people who have money do, and all those things involve costs.
It's not an indicator of a bad economy, in spite of your differently twisted spin on the subject.
probably never had a job, wouldn't know anything about that. lol
The 4th Quarter is comprised of the months of October, November and December.
It's not an indicator of a bad economy, in spite of your differently twisted spin on the subject.
Ok, first of all - assuming you read the article, it has NOTHING to do with when people retired. Or people of retirement age. Or anything like that. Talk about "Non-sequitur".
What it does represent is the same thing that many of us have noticed - our investments are worth less than they were a year ago.
THAT DOES REFLECT ON "THE ECONOMY".
Also, didn't the Fed stop their plans to raise interest rates back to normal levels? Yep, there is only one reason to do that. The economy.
Obviously this is "on paper" as the article states. However, those of us with investments are usually quite affected by what we have "on paper". If I had, say 1.5 million on paper in that Fidelity account at the start of 2018 and 1.3 million at the end, I'd feel much less confident about buying a new...anything.
If, on the other hand, my 1.5 had grown to 1.7, I'd feel fine about buying a car...or two...and the higher trim level to boot.
My guess is that most people who scrimp and save their entire lives would feel similarly. That's why it matters.
Heck, even many big banks have had marketing that talked about "the number" - that being the number people had in their heads that they needed for financial security. If they achieved that number - and then fell back below that number...and it went on for more than a year...they'd probably feel a bit worse about their financial situation.
It's not the end of the world. But it's not an "economic boom like we've never seen"....for certain!
"Grimly hold on" is the more apt description. Still, that's not "nothing". That's real. A lot of people looked at their statements - 100's of thousands - and had to think "maybe I won't do this or that".
That's not the biggest boom in US History as some appear to be telling us. It's not the Great Recession or Depression either.....more like "we have no idea what will happen due to chaos in Trade introduced by a certain character".
"Grimly hold on" is the more apt description. Still, that's not "nothing". That's real. A lot of people looked at their statements - 100's of thousands - and had to think "maybe I won't do this or that".
That's not the biggest boom in US History as some appear to be telling us. It's not the Great Recession or Depression either.....more like "we have no idea what will happen due to chaos in Trade introduced by a certain character".
So, umm, things are normal, and this is a problem? LOL, snowflakes... What happens when there is REAL economic turbulence? Not just "oh no, things are uncertain!"
Stocks go up, and go down. Nothing unusual about that. As usual, a fool and their money do often part ways. If people want to put faith in the bubble created by the fed to make Obama look like an economic genius, that's fine, but it doesn't make it so. Bubbles tend to pop, and in the end, some people are left holding the bag.
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What happens when there is REAL economic turbulence? Not just "oh no, things are uncertain!"
