Joe is 50 and, prior to the downturn, had $400,000 in his 401(k). He was
planning on leaving the funds untouched until he was 70. Because most 401(k)‘s
are rolled over into individual retirement accounts (IRAs) at some point, Joe
was planning on drawing on the funds at age 70 when IRA rules require minimum
annual distributions.
Pre-downturn, Joe was hoping his $400,000 would grow to an even greater amount
over the next 20 years. Now Joe will be happy if, by the time he turns 70, the
$100,000 he’s left with will just get back to $400,000.
So Joe’s goal is to increase his account from $100,000 to $400,000 in 20
years?
Yes. And please note: Joe may have lost 75 % of his 401(k)’s value but he’s got
to gain 400% on his $100,000 to get back to $400,000.
Gosh, going back up to where you were requires a much greater number in terms
of percentage than coming down!
Yes.
Now, let’s make those numbers from the last chapter more realistic and
reflective of Joe’s situation.
What we’ll do is add 3 zero‘s to the 400 to make it $400,000. Let‘s also make it
reflect Joe’s situation by reversing the