By withdrawing $50,000 from your 401(k) account you will forego $233,048 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">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>$233,048</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='54000.0' /><set value='58320.0' /><set value='62986.0' /><set value='68024.0' /><set value='73466.0' /><set value='79344.0' /><set value='85691.0' /><set value='92547.0' /><set value='99950.0' /><set value='107946.0' /><set value='116582.0' /><set value='125909.0' /><set value='135981.0' /><set value='146860.0' /><set value='158608.0' /><set value='171297.0' /><set value='185001.0' /><set value='199801.0' /><set value='215785.0' /><set value='233048.0' /></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>$50,000</td><td>$4,000</td><td>$54,000</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">2</td><td>54,000</td><td>4,320</td><td>58,320</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">3</td><td>58,320</td><td>4,666</td><td>62,986</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">4</td><td>62,986</td><td>5,039</td><td>68,024</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">5</td><td>68,024</td><td>5,442</td><td>73,466</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">6</td><td>73,466</td><td>5,877</td><td>79,344</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">7</td><td>79,344</td><td>6,347</td><td>85,691</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">8</td><td>85,691</td><td>6,855</td><td>92,547</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">9</td><td>92,547</td><td>7,404</td><td>99,950</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">10</td><td>99,950</td><td>7,996</td><td>107,946</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">11</td><td>107,946</td><td>8,636</td><td>116,582</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">12</td><td>116,582</td><td>9,327</td><td>125,909</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">13</td><td>125,909</td><td>10,073</td><td>135,981</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">14</td><td>135,981</td><td>10,878</td><td>146,860</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">15</td><td>146,860</td><td>11,749</td><td>158,608</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">16</td><td>158,608</td><td>12,689</td><td>171,297</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">17</td><td>171,297</td><td>13,704</td><td>185,001</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">18</td><td>185,001</td><td>14,800</td><td>199,801</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">19</td><td>199,801</td><td>15,984</td><td>215,785</td></tr><tr><td role="rowheader" scope="row">20</td><td>215,785</td><td>17,263</td><td>233,048</td></tr></table>