Help Center

Saving for retirement comes with questions. A lot of them. But we’re here to help
with answers to some of the most common questions we get. If the answer to your
question isn’t here, you might find what you need in Plan Rules.

COMMON QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Contributions and investments

It’s easy! Simply log in to your account and select the Manage my money tab. Then select Contributions.

Also, Plan rules has a lot of information about how to save money in your plan. You can find the rules in the Explore tab under Plan Details.

You can learn how to enroll in your plan—and everything else about enrolling—in Plan Rules. You can find these rules in the Explore tab under Plan Details.

Remember, you must be logged in to see your plan rules.

If your plan allows you to change automatic enrollment settings, such as contributions or investments, you can find that information in Plan Rules. You can find these rules in the Explore tab under Plan Details.

Remember, you must be logged in to see your plan rules.

To change how your contributions are invested, first log in to your account. Then select the Manage my money tab and click Investments. From there, scroll down and click change how my money is invested.

If your plan allows, you can automatically increase how much you save each year. That means your paycheck contribution will automatically go up by a certain amount every year at a time that you set.

You can learn more about saving money in your retirement account in Plan Rules. You can find these rules in the Explore tab under Plan Details.

Remember, you must be logged in to see your plan rules.

Loans and withdrawals

Log in to your account and select the Access my money tab on your homepage. Then select Loans and withdrawals

You can see the types of loans you can take, decide how much to withdraw, and get started.

You can also find a lot of useful information about taking money out of your retirement savings in Plan Rules. You can find these rules in the Explore tab under Plan Details.

Remember, you must be logged in to see your plan rules.

The IRS limits how much money you can take out for a loan.

You can borrow up to $50,000 or half your vested account balance, whichever is less.

However, if you’ve had a loan at any time during the past 12 months, the amount you can borrow is reduced by the difference between your highest loan balance over the past 12 months and your loan balance on the date your new loan is made.

You can learn more about loans in Plan Rules. You can find these rules in the Explore tab under Plan Details.

Remember, you must be logged in to see your plan rules.

My plan

Learn everything about your plan, including how to save, invest, and withdraw your money, in Plan Rules.

You can find these rules in the Explore tab under Plan Details.

Remember, you must be logged in to see your plan rules.

If your plan allows, you can add money from another retirement account to your plan account. This is called a rollover.

You can get started on your rollover when you log in to your account and hover over Manage my money and click Transfer money in.


You can learn more about rollovers in Plan Rules. You can find these rules in the Explore tab under Plan Details.

Remember, you must be logged in to see your plan rules.

Roth after-tax contributions are offered by some plans to participants who meet certain criteria. You pay the tax on the money before it goes into your account, which means you can withdraw your money tax-free.*

 

You can learn more about Roth contributions in our online education lesson What can Roth contributions do for me.

*Taxes: Taking money from your retirement account can affect how much you’ll have to pay in taxes. You’ll owe taxes on pre-tax money. You won’t owe taxes on Roth earnings as long as you are age 59½ or older and it’s been at least five years since your first Roth contribution. If required by law, Vanguard will withhold some taxes for you. You may need to pay a 10% federal penalty tax if you take money out early.

My account

Transactions are processed after the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) closes for the day. Each fund’s price (or net asset value) is calculated daily after the NYSE closes.

If your transaction is made before the close of the NYSE, it will receive a trade date of that day. If your transaction is made after the close, it will receive the following business day’s date.

First, don’t panic! If you try to log in with a wrong password or username, you can easily reset them.

We’ll ask you a series of security questions to verify that you are who you say you are, and ask you to create a new username and password.

For additional verification, we’ll either text or call you (your choice) with two security codes: one when you create your new username or password, and another when you log in with your new credentials.

Taxes and fees

Usually, you will be charged a 10% federal tax penalty if you make a withdrawal before you reach age 59½. That’s on top of any income tax you may owe.

Tax forms, when available, are under the Manage my money tab on your homepage. To find them, select Transaction history, statements, & taxes.


Whenever you invest, there’s a chance you could lose the money. 

 


CONTACT US

Retirement plan participants

Are you enrolled in an employer retirement plan (for example, a 401(k), 403(b), pension, or other defined benefit, defined contribution, employer-sponsored or non-qualified plan)?

Our Client Services team is available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Eastern time

Call 800-523-1188

Retirement plan participants site

En español? Retirement plan participants

Lunes–Viernes, de 8:30 a.m. a 9 p.m., hora del Este 

800-828-4487

Personal investors

Are you a Vanguard personal investor (a general brokerage, IRA, or small business investor) or looking for information about Vanguard and our services?

Our Client Services team is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Eastern time

Call 877-662-7447

Support Center—FAQs, tutorials, and more

Personal investors site

Retirement plan participants text telephone

For the hearing-impaired:

800-523-8004

CONTACT US BY MAIL

USPS mail:

Vanguard

Attn: DC

PO Box 982902

El Paso, TX 79998-2902

Overnight mail:
Vanguard

Attn: DC

5951 Luckett Court Suite A2

El Paso, TX 79932
More answers to your questions about your money

There’s retirement planning, and then there’s day-to-day financial planning. For either kind, our online lessons will make sure you know your stuff.

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