The housing market is expected to be busier than usual this winter as some h

游客2024-03-07  29

问题     The housing market is expected to be busier than usual this winter as some home buyers rush to act before the Federal Reserve raises interest rates—which some analysts say could happen as early as December.
    Some consumers who haven’t yet been able to save the money for a down payment may be tempted to raid their retirement accounts for the cash. Indeed, first-time home buyers have several options for tapping their nest eggs before retirement without having to pay the 10 percent penalty charged for early withdrawals.
    For people with decent retirement savings, borrowing or withdrawing from a retirement account can be a way to diversify investments by buying an asset that can add to their total net worth. But people considering the move should take into account all of the costs they might face, including interest, lost investment growth and potential penalties if plans fall apart.
    In most cases, the home in question doesn’t actually have to be a person’s first home. Generally, the IRS requires that a person using retirement funds to buy a home must not have owned a home in the past two years. The house must be the person’s main home.
    The specific requirements for dipping into savings vary depending on the type of retirement account. Savers using 401 (k) plans can take loans of up to 50 percent of their vested account balance, with a maximum of $50000, to help pay for a main home. Savers can also withdraw up to $10000 from a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA penalty-free to buy a first home for themselves, their spouse or their children.
    For most savers using retirement funds to buy a home, one of the biggest downsides is that the move cuts down on the amount of time their savings are invested in stocks and other markets. While borrowers are using the money to make an investment, the growth potential for the property may not be as large as the potential growth the cash might have seen had it stayed invested, says Meghan Murphy, a director with Fidelity Investments.
    People who borrow from their retirement accounts one time may also be tempted to borrow again, Murphy says, creating a dangerous habit of serial borrowing. Plus, people who have taken loans from their 401 (k) s are also more likely to take hardship withdrawals, which are allowed to help pay for emergencies and which are subject to taxes and a 10 percent penalty.
    At the end of the day, what’s best will depend on a person’s situation. Taking away $10000 from a retirement account won’t necessarily make or break a person’s retirement. But savers should understand the full consequences of the move before they decide. [br] What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

选项 A、To prevent savers from withdrawing from retirement accounts.
B、To suggest some strategies about how to use retirement funds.
C、To analyze the move of investing in housing with retirement funds.
D、To compare the prospect of different investment strategies.

答案 C

解析 本题考查写作目的,需综合全篇信息进行解答。主旨大意题。文章从开篇就提到大量购房者抢在美联储涨息之前进入房市购房的现象,继而分析使用养老金账户借贷购房的不同方式和各自利弊,也警示借款者可能存在的潜在风险。总之,文章的主要篇幅还是帮助存款者分析如何根据各种不同养老金计划进行借贷及其存在的风险,故答案为C。
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