[tdunas]

I'm asking about my 401k, if I still work with the company, but not ready for retirement, can I still take it out and put it in a savings account or something like that, because the company no longer will match the amount I put in?

[ebaines]

You seem to be combining the issue of whether it's a good idea to withdraw money from our 401(k) while still working- in order to invest in some other vehicle - with the issue of whether it's a good idea to contribute to your 401(k) if your employer doesn't match your contributions. These are really two different subjects, so I'll deal with them separately:

1. Taking a withdrawal to simply put the money into a savings account is not a good idea. The problems are that (a) you will pay taxes on the amount you withdraw, thus reducing the amount you have left to invest, (b) if you are under 59-1/2 years of age you will also pay a 10% penalty, and (c) most plans don't allow active employees to make withdrawals anyway except under certain hardship conditions, so this is most likely a moot question.

2. You should always be saving money towards your retirement as long as you are gainfully employed, so you should figure out whether you are better off continuing to contribute to your 401(k), or shift your retirement savings to an IRA or other savings vehicle, such as investments in stocks or real estate. Note that none of these alternatives include an employer contribution either - so the fact that your employer isn't matching your 401(k) contributions is immaterial to this decision. For most people I believe it is best to stay with the 401(k), because it is easy and relativey painless to keep up with contributions through automatic payroll contributions, plus you get the tax deferred advantage which is not available in a savings acount. Further, without an automatic payroll deduction most people simply don't bother to save for retirement, and they certainly don't save as much. So in general my advice is to stay fully invested in your 401(k) - do not take a withdrawal (unless it's to roll the investment to an IRA, or unless you retire or become unemployed and have no choice) and continue with regular contributons as long as you are employed.