By withdrawing $50,000 from your 401(k) account you will forego $474,289 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 $32,500 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">Six month suspension - lost contributions</td><td></td><td>$20,500</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">Early withdrawal amount</td><td></td><td>$50,000</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">Total lost value at retirement</td><td>=</td><td>$474,289</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>$50,000</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">Early withdrawal penalty</td><td>-</td><td>$5,000</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">Taxes</td><td>-</td><td>$12,500</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">Net amount after penalty and taxes</td><td>=</td><td>$32,500</td></tr></table> <div id="chart1Container">Chart will load here</div> <script type="text/javascript"> <!-- var myChart1 = new FusionCharts( "MSColumn2D", "myChart1Id", "100%", "100%", "0", "1" ); myChart1.setXMLData("<chart showValues='0' showFCMenuItem='0' decimals='0' formatNumberScale='0' caption='Lost Retirement Funds' xAxisName='Years Until Retirement' numberPrefix='$' bgColor='FFFFFF' showBorder='1' borderColor='FFFFFF' borderThickness='1' canvasBgColor='ffffff' showAlternateHGridColor='0' plotGradientColor='' numberSuffix='' thousandSeparator=',' decimalSeparator='.'><categories><category label='1' /><category label='' /><category label='3' /><category label='' /><category label='5' /><category label='' /><category label='7' /><category label='' /><category label='9' /><category label='' /><category label='11' /><category label='' /><category label='13' /><category label='' /><category label='15' /><category label='' /><category label='17' /><category label='' /><category label='19' /><category label='' /></categories><dataset seriesName=''><set value='77550.0' /><set value='85305.0' /><set value='93836.0' /><set value='103219.0' /><set value='113541.0' /><set value='124895.0' /><set value='137385.0' /><set value='151123.0' /><set value='166235.0' /><set value='182859.0' /><set value='201145.0' /><set value='221259.0' /><set value='243385.0' /><set value='267724.0' /><set value='294496.0' /><set value='323946.0' /><set value='356340.0' /><set value='391974.0' /><set value='431172.0' /><set value='474289.0' /></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>$70,500</td><td>$7,050</td><td>$77,550</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">2</td><td>77,550</td><td>7,755</td><td>85,305</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">3</td><td>85,305</td><td>8,531</td><td>93,836</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">4</td><td>93,836</td><td>9,384</td><td>103,219</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">5</td><td>103,219</td><td>10,322</td><td>113,541</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">6</td><td>113,541</td><td>11,354</td><td>124,895</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">7</td><td>124,895</td><td>12,490</td><td>137,385</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">8</td><td>137,385</td><td>13,738</td><td>151,123</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">9</td><td>151,123</td><td>15,112</td><td>166,235</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">10</td><td>166,235</td><td>16,624</td><td>182,859</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">11</td><td>182,859</td><td>18,286</td><td>201,145</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">12</td><td>201,145</td><td>20,114</td><td>221,259</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">13</td><td>221,259</td><td>22,126</td><td>243,385</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">14</td><td>243,385</td><td>24,339</td><td>267,724</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">15</td><td>267,724</td><td>26,772</td><td>294,496</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">16</td><td>294,496</td><td>29,450</td><td>323,946</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">17</td><td>323,946</td><td>32,395</td><td>356,340</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">18</td><td>356,340</td><td>35,634</td><td>391,974</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">19</td><td>391,974</td><td>39,197</td><td>431,172</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">20</td><td>431,172</td><td>43,117</td><td>474,289</td></tr></table>