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November 18, 2014 Retirement-Savings Accounts: Just Another Piggy Bank? More than one-quarter of U.S. households that use 401(k) retirement-savings accounts withdraw money from these funds for purposes other than retirement at some point: About $60 billion of the $294 billion in these accounts has been pulled out for such uses as paying off debts or making ends meet when people are between jobs, even though withdrawals trigger substantial penalties, according to The New York Times. People often cash out of their retirement accounts when they leave jobs, rather than rolling them over into new 401(k)s, the Times says. SOURCE: Combating a Flood of Early 401(k) Withdrawals

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