I wasn’t on any soapbox, just expressing my opinion on the matter as it did relate to me. My company was questioning whether we wanted it or not, I say not. If you don’t agree, that’s fine. However, as my job makes me an expert in these sorts of things, I don’t have a problem sharing my opinion as it relates to others. I’m not telling you what you can or can’t do, nor do I presume that my words should be taken as such. Your comment, though, suggests you didn’t read the post in it’s entirety. But, if you’d rather blow all of your retirement money now and work until you’re into your 60s and 70s, who am I to dissuade you?

My understanding of the program was that the interest is paid back to the company. I’ll look into it more to be sure, because it could go directly back to your employer like a regular 401(k) loan does. However, either way, that interest doesn’t go back to you. To my knowledge there is no such loan process that allows you to borrow from your 401(k) and pay interest to yourself. But, if anyone else knows of one, please share!

Not only that, but let’s consider the alternative where companies say it’s a good idea to give it to their employees and everyone gets a card. What happens in a couple of years when people have depleted their accounts? Your scenario presupposes that people will take responsibility for their actions, when in reality most people don’t. Don’t believe me? Take a look at the current situation. Yes, the lenders are just as responsible as the consumers for giving out the loans, but consumers do their fair share of the blame game when they should have known that getting the loan would have been more than they could handle. It’s just a fact of life, it’s easier to blame someone else. Now, before you get all worked up over that statement, I’m not suggesting that this applies to everyone. Even still, I don’t think credit cards attached to a 401(k) is a good idea, even for a responsible person. You need cash from your 401(k), then do it the old-fashioned way.

And just to clarify, by using the credit card, you agree to the terms and conditions which is to say, you agree to a 401(k) loan. It’s prime plus 2.9% on the repayment – so you still make out better with the 7% loan you mentioned.

It’s *my* money, dag-nabbit. If I want to pull money out of my retirement account, that’s my business, and not yours or anyone else’s. If I do the wrong thing and screw it up, I cry. If I want to do the right thing, but people who think they know more about my needs and abilities want to keep me from getting to my own assets, then we’re going to be having words shortly. In my opinion, anything that puts more control in the hands of the rightful holders of the asset is a good thing.

Some people are going to be idiots and fritter away their retirement accounts. I’m not going to be one of those idiots, but it might be a better alternative than a 7% loan if I’m going through unemployment, my savings (6 months) have run out, and I know that I’m committed to balancing it back out when I get back on my feet. Why is someone trying to tell me that my retirement account is not something I should have control over?

If it was proposed that savings be mandatory and controlled for every individual by a board of smart folks, would you be for it? I mean, if those shmucks can’t be responsible, we’ll MAKE them be responsible, because the experts know what’s best for each of us, right? Right?