Money Traps
Here are some interesting facts from a Forbes article called "Money Traps" by Janet Novak.
Americans hold $6.5 trillion in IRAs, 401(k)s, and other retirement accounts ... and they can be a tax trap.
The Internal Revenue Service estimates that on 2003 returns, 4.9
million taxpayers paid $3.4 billion in retirement account penalties.
Sad thing is this probably is going up as more and more people move into
their retirement or try to access their money because of tough times.
IRA, 401(k)s, and other retirement accounts have many strings
attached. But what's most shocking is the amount of fines and taxes you
may receive for not knowing all the rules. It's truly a sad day when
families and individuals lose funds they were counting on for a passive
income for later years in life.