They may be investing indirectly, like with their 401(k).<p>People with significant credit card balances may be paying 15%, 18%, 25%, or more on them.  Even with the tax advantage of the retirement account, it&#x27;s better to suspend contributions and pay off debt.<p>Assume you&#x27;re in the 25% tax bracket.  If you have a $100 debt accruing interest at 24.99% for 10 years, you end up owing $931.  If you have $133 in a pre-tax account earning at 7% for 10 years, and withdraw it and pay 25% in tax on the $262, you have $196 left.  You don&#x27;t have to be a genius to figure out that still leaves you $735 in the hole, which is far worse than paying the tax on your $133 paycheck up front and using the $100 to pay off your debt instead of investing it.<p>As it turns out, your interest on debt doesn&#x27;t need to be nearly that high.  If you owe at 10% and invest pre-25% tax at 7%, it still makes sense to stop investing entirely until paying off the debt.