By withdrawing $30,000 from your 401(k) account you will forego $37,791 in future retirement benefits (which includes a six month suspension from contributing to your account and receiving any employer match, if any). Furthermore, you will net only $19,500 on your withdrawal after paying income taxes and early withdrawal penalties.<table class='pure-table' role='grid'><tr><th colspan='3' role="rowheader" scope="col" class='section'>Lost retirement funds</th></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">Early withdrawal amount</td><td></td><td>$30,000</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">Total lost value at retirement</td><td>=</td><td>$37,791</td></tr><tr><th colspan='3' role="rowheader" scope="col" class='section'>Impact of early withdrawal</th></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">Amount of withdrawal</td><td></td><td>$30,000</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">Early withdrawal penalty</td><td>-</td><td>$3,000</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">Taxes</td><td>-</td><td>$7,500</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">Net amount after penalty and taxes</td><td>=</td><td>$19,500</td></tr></table> <div id="chart1Container">Chart will load here</div> <script type="text/javascript"> <!-- var myChart1 = new FusionCharts( "MSColumn2D", "myChart1Id", "100%", "100%", "0", "1" ); myChart1.setXMLData("<chart showValues='0' showFCMenuItem='0' decimals='0' formatNumberScale='0' caption='Lost Retirement Funds' xAxisName='Years Until Retirement' numberPrefix='$' bgColor='FFFFFF' showBorder='1' borderColor='FFFFFF' borderThickness='1' canvasBgColor='ffffff' showAlternateHGridColor='0' plotGradientColor='' numberSuffix='' thousandSeparator=',' decimalSeparator='.'><categories><category label='1' /><category label='2' /><category label='3' /></categories><dataset seriesName=''><set value='32400.0' /><set value='34992.0' /><set value='37791.0' /></dataset></chart>"); // --> </script> <table class='pure-table pure-table-bordered' role='grid'><tr><th scope="col">Year</th><th scope="col">Beginning Balance</th><th scope="col">Earnings</th><th scope="col">Ending Balance</th></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">1</td><td>$30,000</td><td>$2,400</td><td>$32,400</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">2</td><td>32,400</td><td>2,592</td><td>34,992</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">3</td><td>34,992</td><td>2,799</td><td>37,791</td></tr></table>