Do you have old 401k plans?

Do you have old 401k plans?

Do you have old 401k plans that are “Left Behind” with old employers? Surprisingly enough, the overwhelming answer is usually yes!

One would think that 401 plans would be immune to the procrastination that we all exhibit in our lives, however even sometimes substantial sums of money fall under the category “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”.

Speaking personally, I generally try not to leave bankaccounts  with thousands of dollars behind when I change my checking or savings. It would be very disconcerting to have these account or accounts scattered over my former financial life, sometimes earning very little or no interest at all. Investment accounts  generally do not have the same stigma though. I truly believe since you don’t make a physical deposit in many of these 401k plans, the cash or investments just don’t carry the weight of a primary checking account that enable you to put food on the table, pay your bills, and take care of your family.

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Okay, you probably get my point by now. Now what are other reasons that you have not consolidated your retirement accounts?

Here are a few Old 401k Planning Excuses:

Complacency

Lack of a comprehensive roadmap to retirement

The thought that “They are doing okay where they are”

My firm belief is that you can do a much better job with most of your retirement in one self directed IRA instead of old 401k plans. Most 401k plans have limited investment options, while a self directed IRA  has more of the financial buffet approach. More simply put, would you rather have only one choice, or a buffet option when choosing your next meal?

Quite frankly, when you have an IRA, you have the opportunity of investing in over 10,000 mutual funds, stocks, bonds , or even commodities. Now that is quite the variety compared to the 10 or 20 funds dictated to you in a 401k plan. That way you or your advisor can go out there and get the funds that are considered the “Allstars” in their categories. This ultimately results in better planning and better results.

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Please keep in mind, you can make additional tax deductible contributions to your Self Directed or Roth IRA, while still investing in your current 401k plan

This gives you 2 pots of money that you can be adding to instead of just your current company’s plan. Be careful and weigh your options though. You do not want to start contributing to your IRA until you have exhausted the company match in your current plan.

Now you may be asking yourself……How do I go about making this change? The quick answer is that any old 401k plan or plans can be rolled over into a single self directed IRA. You can either do this yourself online with a company like TradeKing, or seek out a trusted advisor to help you in developing your retirement goals and planning. Please keep in mind though that this does not apply to your current 401k plan. You can only roll over plans from companies with which you have severed employment.

In closing, you will be better off most of the time by keeping your retirement under one umbrella, and sticking to a defined plan of attack. Take the initiative and you can help to secure your future! As always, please email us with ideas and suggestions at .

Please visit our site for more retirement details: www.erollover.com