Comments on: Deciding What to Do With Your 401(k) When You Change Jobs

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:12:34 +0000

Brian, great point!

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:33:29 +0000

Don’t forget to check if there are any account fees in the old 401k plan. Most companies don’t pay the cost of maintaining accounts for former employees

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:26:21 +0000

Lashawn,

You may be able to leave your old 401(k) in place for a few months and then roll it over into your new company’s 401(k) plan. You might want to check with your old 401(k) provider for more details. Otherwise, an IRA is probably a good way to go.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:11:54 +0000

David,

The new job is good. As for the 401(k), I have enough money that I could easily leave it in the old plan. But I want to check out other options because I think I can get lower expense ratios through either my new plan, or via an IRA rollover.

By: David Carter

David Carter — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:46:09 +0000

Good explanation. For me it would depend on how much money I had on my old plan and the options on the new/old plan. How is the new job?

By: MelStar

MelStar — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:13:38 +0000

That’s a lot of good information. There may be people right now comtemplating this very issue because they are changing jobs. Some may be thinking this is a good time to take some of or all of the money in a lump sum payout because of a financial needs.

But as you point out that is not decision that most recommend because of the taxes and early withdrawal penalties. The Lump Sum payout can really derail your retirement plans and set you back quite a bit.

Excellent info.

By: Lashawn

Lashawn — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:50:45 +0000

Thanks for this information. I recently checnged jobs myself and this is on my list of things to do.

Mynew employer doesn’t offer 401k until after 4 months, so rollin the old 401k into the new employer is not an option. And I really don’t want to cash out. My first inclination was to just roll it into an IRA, but I’ll need to find a suitable IRA.