Home Value and 401(k) Plan Feelings Today

In my business, I have lengthy, in-depth conversations with both current and soon-to-be company retirement plan participants several times a week. Right now, I am hearing and feeling two reoccurring themes from the people I talk to and meet with.

First, these current 401(k) or 403(b) company retirement plan participants are feeling a great degree of concern about the timing of the current economic cycle in the U.S. This concern centers on the preservation and potential growth of their two largest financial assets; their company retirement plan and their home.

Another major stock market decline could easily wipe out the past growth and the last few years worth of annual contributions in a company retirement plan. Most 60-plus company retirement plan investors don’t have the time to make up those losses again.

The current supply of homes for sale combined with the lack of demand from new home buyers shows no sign of changing. If interest rates rise dramatically from today’s levels, that could further depress current and future home values. Both of these factors affect the sale price of a home.

The second theme that I hear about is that current company retirement plan participants don’t know where to go for financial advice now or in the future. These company retirement plan participants are also concerned about how much any financial advice would cost them.

Today, most company retirement plan advice is provided by a computer model generated by an internet-based financial advice provider. To a person, every company retirement plan participant I have talked to is skeptical of the value of that kind of impersonal and generic retirement plan investment advice.

Do you share these same concerns about the preservation and growth of the value of your home and company retirement plan? If so, let me know.

Ric Lager
Lager & Company, Inc.