Can you still contribute to your 401k if you are furloughed?

I am furloughed from my job due to the pandemic. Normally a part of my pay check goes to my 401k automatically. Since I’m not receiving pay checks right now, can I transfer money from my savings account to my 401k to keep contributing towards retirement?

Nope, by law 401k contributions have to come from payroll withholding.

You can still invest in a Roth IRA if you’re eligible, and you can always invest any amount of money in a regular brokerage account. :slight_smile:

Okay got it. Thanks for the quick response!

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Another option, if you think it’s likely to become activated again before the end of the year: you could just save up the money in a savings account, then when your paycheck starts again ramp up your 401k contributions all the way. That way you’ll live on your savings toward the end of the year and have basically your whole paycheck dumped right into the 401k. But this is a calendar year thing, so if you don’t get unfurloughed by the end of the year that wouldn’t work.

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Thanks again! I’ve already maxed out my ROTH IRA for 2020 so this is a great option, too.

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