I'm 50 years old and going through a divorce where we're splitting everything 50/50 but that means giving her half of my 401k ($250k).
After everything is final, I'll have:
An annuity worth 100k. I don't contribute to it but it does grow, but it's main function is not to lose anything.
I'll have a Roth worth 20k that I contribute $250 a month.
I have 17k in stock.
I currently contribute 14% to my 401k. I've got a good idea of what my post-divorce finances look like and if I -may- need to lower my 401k contribution down to 10-12% and/or lower the Roth contribution by half.
Going forward, does it make sense to take some of my stock and try to replenish the 401k? Should I try to cut as many expenses to try and increase my 401k contribution to get it back to where it was?
Posted by albone
4 Comments
If you can afford to bump your 401k contributions up, yes you should do so. Be sure you still have a solid emergency fund first
Hey, I know this isn’t easy—losing half your 401k sucks. You still have a decent base, so maybe focus on keeping some contributions going without stretching yourself too thin. Don’t panic-sell stocks; long-term growth beats short-term catch-up. Pace yourself, you’ll rebuild it step by step.
>giving her half of my 401k ($250k).
Half is $250k or the total pre-split balance is $250k?
>and/or lower the Roth contribution by half.
I wouldn’t even contribute to a rIRA until you’re maxing out the 401k + catchup. Unless there’s a big pension or rental income that you’re excluding, the likelihood your retirement income will be higher than your working income is small, take all the tax deductions you can to save even more.
>Going forward, does it make sense to take some of my stock and try to replenish the 401k?
Do you have an emergency fund that you didn’t list? If the brokerage account is the entirety of your non-retirement savings, no, you should not shift that money to retirement accounts.
I’m in 401(k) administration, here’s my quick take:
The split will be done with a QDRO, so you don’t get hit with taxes/penalties when your ex’s share is carved out. You can’t “replenish” a 401(k) with stock sales. Contributions can only come from paycheck deferrals up to IRS limits.
Since you’re 50, you qualify for catch-up contributions (up to $30.5k total in 2025). If you can, prioritize the 401(k) first (especially if there’s a match), and trim the Roth if needed. You’ve still got 15 to 20 years of compounding, so steady contributions matter more than trying to immediately replace what’s gone.
Best of luck brotha.