Record Number Of Emergency 401K Withdrawals in Trump's 2025 "Golden Age" Economy

[Hafar1014]

Trump's declaration last week that we are in a "Golden Age Economy" may have been premature. Investment Companies are reporting a record number of people withdrew emergency funds from their 401K's last year to make ends meet. The number of people taking loans doubled from just 3 years ago and is 3Xs the number pre-pandemic.

This is just another clear sign of an economy that is working for the top and crumbling for the middle and bottom.

A record share of Americans are taking emergency withdrawals from their 401(k)s

More Americans are digging into their retirement savings for emergency expenses, research from Vanguard shows.

www.cbsnews.com

A record share of Americans are tapping their retirement savings accounts to cover emergency expenses, according to new data from financial services firm Vanguard.

In 2025, 6% of people enrolled in Vanguard 401(k) plans made so-called hardship withdrawals from their accounts, up from 5% in 2024, according to the company's 2026 report on Americans' savings habits.

The share of workers tapping hardship withdrawals has risen in recent years, reflecting the financial pressure many households face when unexpected bills hit. Hardship withdrawals are permitted by the IRS for a limited number of financial issues, including covering medical care or payments to avoid eviction or foreclosure.

The rising incidence of hardship withdrawals highlights the importance of setting aside money for emergencies, Vanguard's Jeff Clark, head of defined contribution research and the author of the report on savings, told CBS News.

Thank Biden for that. 401K values are way up under Trump

 

[Marener]

Thank Biden for that. 401K values are way up under Trump

Use your head. If people are withdrawing from their 401k, it’s because they don’t have the income to cover expenses.

This reflects job market.

 

[sparky]

apparently there is no universal metric for 'economy'.......~S~

 

[Lisa558]

YayLisa in a year from now…




View attachment 1227606

 

[citygator]

If so it will be temporary.

Transitional, eh?

 

[Harry Dresden]

Trump supporters just can’t admit there degree to which Trump has caused economic uncertainty.

Employment numbers are not very reassuring.

every president we have had there were times of economic uncertainty....

 

[Marener]

every president we have had there were times of economic uncertainty....

Trump is the uncertainty. He’s incredibly vague, changes his mind on a dime, and you can’t take anything he says seriously.

Moreover, he just doesn’t seem to care that much about failure. I think because he knows that his cult like followers will never blame him.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Trump is the uncertainty. He’s incredibly vague, changes his mind on a dime, and you can’t take anything he says seriously.

Moreover, he just doesn’t seem to care that much about failure. I think because he knows that his cult like followers will never blame him.

on both sides the die hards never blame their leaders...

 

[citygator]

Thank Biden for that. 401K values are way up under Trump

Way up under Biden too. But guess what genius? The median 401K value is a whopping $35k. whooooooooo. People are taking emergency funds from a $35k retirement fund. Go ahead and celebrate that $35K fund is up from $31K sometime in the past. You guys deflect the shit out of everything.

 

[The Duke]

Last quarter GDP growth was 1.4% annualized.

What the hell are you talking about?

"In the third quarter, real GDP increased 4.4 percent."

Gross Domestic Product | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

www.bea.gov

How far can it go up from there? You are being disingenuous.
The economy and fuel will be fine. Decades of bad policy about all that has been undone and the US will prosper. Things I've been saying needed done for decades all already have, and there's more to come!

 

[Marener]

"In the third quarter, real GDP increased 4.4 percent."

Gross Domestic Product | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

www.bea.gov

How far can it go up from there? You are being disingenuous.

GDP growth in 2025 was lower than in 2024.

You’re cherry picking.

 

[skews13]

Trump's declaration last week that we are in a "Golden Age Economy" may have been premature. Investment Companies are reporting a record number of people withdrew emergency funds from their 401K's last year to make ends meet. The number of people taking loans doubled from just 3 years ago and is 3Xs the number pre-pandemic.

This is just another clear sign of an economy that is working for the top and crumbling for the middle and bottom.

A record share of Americans are taking emergency withdrawals from their 401(k)s

More Americans are digging into their retirement savings for emergency expenses, research from Vanguard shows.

www.cbsnews.com

A record share of Americans are tapping their retirement savings accounts to cover emergency expenses, according to new data from financial services firm Vanguard.

In 2025, 6% of people enrolled in Vanguard 401(k) plans made so-called hardship withdrawals from their accounts, up from 5% in 2024, according to the company's 2026 report on Americans' savings habits.

The share of workers tapping hardship withdrawals has risen in recent years, reflecting the financial pressure many households face when unexpected bills hit. Hardship withdrawals are permitted by the IRS for a limited number of financial issues, including covering medical care or payments to avoid eviction or foreclosure.

The rising incidence of hardship withdrawals highlights the importance of setting aside money for emergencies, Vanguard's Jeff Clark, head of defined contribution research and the author of the report on savings, told CBS News.

The incidence of hardship withdrawals highlights the ongoing failure of supply side economics (trickledown), of the last 45 years, when company pensions started being withdrawn, and employees required to use a benefit that was originally aimed at executives as part of their bonus packages.

American workers have been trained to believe the 401K is normal for average workers to have retirement benefits after their careers. Most workers live paycheck to paycheck in the new and improved Republican created economy for the Epstein Class.

And they want to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits on top of that.

 

[The Duke]

GDP growth in 2025 was lower than in 2024.

You’re cherry picking.

No, you are cherry picking. What's 4.4 +1.4?
5.8 you say? If so, you'd be correct. That's where we're at now with a new thing coming soon.

 

[Marener]

No, you are cherry picking. What's 4.4 +1.4?
5.8 you say? If so, you'd be correct. That's where we're at now with a new thing coming soon.

You can't add the numbers like that. They're annualized figures.

C'mon man, do you know what you're talking about?

 

[The Duke]

You can't add the numbers like that. They're annualized figures.

C'mon man, do you know what you're talking about?

I do. And you are attempting to spread misinformation.
The topic of this thread is Boomers panicking and selling off portions of their 401Ks at exactly the wrong time, and that happened, and they regretted it 2 weeks later, douchebag. Seen that happen in real life.

 

[Marener]

I do. And you are attempting to spread misinformation.
The topic of this thread is Boomers panicking and selling off portions of their 401Ks at exactly the wrong time, and that happened, and they regretted it 2 weeks later, douchebag. Seen that happen in real life.

Emergency withdrawals are for people under 60 who are seeking to pull funds out due to hardships.

It's not about boomers panicking and selling off portions of their 401ks.

I don't think you really know what you're talking about.

 

[drudge X]

Use your head. If people are withdrawing from their 401k, it’s because they don’t have the income to cover expenses.

This reflects job market.

This was already happening under Biden. Shoppers were paying for groceries in installments. Fixing the damages caused by Democrats takes time and I hate to admit that some damages caused by Democrats are permanent.

 

[Marener]

This was already happening under Biden. Shoppers were paying for groceries in installments. Fixing the damages caused by Democrats takes time and I hate to admit that some damages caused by Democrats are permanent.

It's worse under Trump. You have a hard time convincing me he's trying to "fix" this. I honestly don't think he really cares.

 

[Rawley]

GDP growth in 2025 was lower than in 2024.

You’re cherry picking.

Says the cherry picker. LOL

 

[citygator]

So far all the right has done in this thread is spin:

• "But the 401Ks are up!" => Median value is $35K so no one got a windfall of money.
• "Boomers are panicking, they'll be sorry!" => Emergency withdrawals are for under 59 1/2 years old having financial problems.
• "But.. but...but...It's Biden's fault"! => A year and a half later and getting way worse under Trump, 50% worse
• "But.. but.. but... GDP was [artificially] high in Q3!" => Righties hanging on to the gold spike in Q3 that made GDP higher