During KHTS AM-1220’s latest “Total Financial Safer Money Hour,” Santa Clarita financial advisor Arif Halaby discussed just how beneficial saving for retirement can be, and how to move money between retirement accounts without losing it to fees and penalties.

Halaby, a Certified Estate Planner, started the show with a warning to those in need of cash who are looking towards their retirement account to pay their bills.

Show Host Arif M. Halaby

“A lot of times people will take their retirement plan and use it to pay bills or do things while they are still working,” he said. “Or worse yet, if they lose a job they think, ‘Oh well, it’s my emergency savings account.”

However, he added, this is generally a bad idea.

“Your retirement account has a job to do and that job is not to be spent on things along the way,” Halaby said. “The 401(k)’s job is not to go out and be there for you to liquidate when you’re in your 40s or your 50s, or worse, in your 30s.”

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Jeff Girard, Halaby’s co-host, said that other options are available in the case that a person has left an employer.

“Now you have an option or two that you didn’t have when you were still working there,” he said.

One of these options is known as a rollover.

A rollover, Girard said,  is a transition of your retirement plan from your old employer to a new employer, without penalties or fees.

Halaby explained that retirement accounts should only be used in dire circumstances in order to preserve as much as possible for a rollover to a new employer.

“If it’s (homelessness) or use your retirement account, of course you do it,” he said. “(But)  if you have thousands of dollars saved, just think about how much that will be in 10, 20 or 50 years from now.”

Girard added to this statement, explaining that, from a 401(k), “You can borrow either $50,000 or half of your savings, whichever is less.”

However, both Santa Clarita financial advisors encouraged investors to keep their money in several different places and have plans in order to preserve it.

“You have the ability to move your money in different places,” said Girard. “There’s no such thing as having one retirement account or one retirement plan.”

Halaby added to this point, emphasizing the importance of having more than one retirement account.

“It gives you the ability to access that money from one place,” he said, “and yet have the ability to save some, or preserve some (money) from the market.”

Total Financial Solutions offers assistance with preparing for retirement and financial planning in Santa Clarita and the surrounding valleys. Santa Clarita financial advisor Arif M. Halaby, a Certified Estate Planner, and Total Financial Solutions staff work with people of all ages, helping them protect, grow and preserve their assets through an individualized approach. Halaby is also the host of “Total Financial Safer Money Hour” on KHTS AM-1220. Launched in 2004, the show offers listeners from Santa Clarita financial planning tips and guidance for dealing with today’s ever-changing financial needs.  

Total Financial Solutions, Inc.

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Newhall, CA 91321

661-753-9683

800-990-7344