What happens to your 401K when you switch jobs?
Do you have to cash it out and pay penalties or can youroll it into your new 401K with your new employer?
You do NOT have to cash it out. Usually you can roll it over somewhere… Check out the link below, but I think you want to do your research before switching as you only have like X days to do it (60 maybe less???). Everyone is different, but you may want to talk to a real financial advisor to determine whether you should roll it into a new 401K, IRA, etc. You have a few options and depending on how much you have in there, how good your new 401K choices are, how much money you make, retirement plans, etc, you might choose a different path than someone else on here…
You should roll it over to your new comany’s 401k plan or to an IRA. For smaller balances say less than 5-10k I would just move it to the new 401k if they have one. If not or you have a higher balance you should most likely move it to an IRa. After you leave your next job, you can roll that 401k into it as well. I am in the business. Feel free to email me and I can point you in the right direction.
Rollovers may take place once in a 12 month period and must be completed within 60 days; 100% of the funds withdrawn must be rolled into a new account or they will be subject to tax and an early withdrawal penalty if applicable. If u have anymore questions this is the kind of the thing I help folks with. Hope that sheds some light.
It’s a shame the penalties are so bad to remove funds. I’ve manged to loose 20k so far this quarter and I doubt if the bleeding is done. I know the market will come back but, just ■■■■! My IRA financial advisor is calling me up weekly “buy,buy buy!” I understand the principal and all but just really can’t get too excited about it-besides, all my extra $$$ gous into the boat nowadays for fuel 
Epic Failure=When everyday,run of the mill failure just won’t do
Does your IRA advisor get a cut when you buy? Some of them have transaction based fees and they will tell you to buy all the time…
Also note that any decent 401K should have a bond fund allocation or a money market fund in it. You could always park money there instead of a security based fund to avoid the downturn of the market and still make a few percentage points. If you have already lost a significant percentage, you really want to think hard about which direction you want to move. If you move your money out at the bottom, then you really screw yourself good!
I actually got 100% out of securities and into bonds and MM funds just before the new year and saved myself a lot of heartbreak. I sat through the last bear market rally with a watchful eye and missed out on a few gains. This time around I just moved 25% of my money back into market based securities last week and I am hoping for a short lived rally on the markets over the next month or so. As that happens, I will probably move back into my MM as we approach the 12,000 mark on the DOW again.
Anyway, please don’t take advice from me and do your own research, but before you snatch all of your money out, know that in every bear market, there are usually bullish rallies and you may or may not get some of your money back!
I have an IRA w/ Edward Jones-rolled over a 401k into it a couple years ago. They charged a % of total at inception and a flat 50.00 or 100.00 per year for stock buying/selling. I’m with you on this market deal-gonna take a few to straighten this out-as long as the dems don’t Obama in office. I think that my friend, will do us in. I just had to pay payroll tax today to the tune of over 7k - I know that I keep this money out of employees paychecks, but lordy, small biz anymore is just about not worth it if you run things the “legal” way…But that skinnee, is another story!
Epic Failure=When everyday,run of the mill failure just won’t do