For a growing number of Americans, retirement accounts are doing double duty as savings accounts for the future and emergency funds for the here and now. Vanguard Group says that 2023 saw early withdrawals from a record 3.6 percent of the 5 million accounts it administers, up from 2.8 percent in 2022. Roben Farzad, host of NPR’s "Full Disclosure" podcast, joins John Yang to discuss.
I’ve emptied out my 401k because food and shelter were my priority. I’ve had to do this twice so far in my lifetime. Once during the 2008 recession and again last year.