2010-08-21cnn.com

Many have warned of this for a while -- not only is a major demographic shift at the root, but the financial hardship of the economic downturn is exacerbating it. The bottom line is: retail money is increasingly coming out of the market, because people need it just to get by.

Fidelity reported that, as of the second quarter, 2.2% of all 401(k) participants had made a hardship withdrawal at some point over the preceding 12 months. That's up from 2% in the prior year, and was the highest level in 10 years.

...

At the same time, the percentage of 401(k) participants that had an outstanding loan from their account rose to a record high of 22% in the second quarter. The average loan amount was $8,650 at the end of the quarter.



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