{"id":17089,"date":"2021-09-29T17:32:30","date_gmt":"2021-09-29T21:32:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/?p=17089"},"modified":"2025-02-14T10:19:18","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T15:19:18","slug":"is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/","title":{"rendered":"Is your old 401(k) serving you as best it can?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re still working, recently changed jobs, or approaching retirement; if you have an old 401(k), 403(b), or 457 plan that\u2019s been sitting untouched after you left an employer, you need to ask some critical questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Leave it where it is?<\/li>
  2. Move it to your new employer?<\/li>
  3. Roll it over into an IRA?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Notice that not one of the above options was to cash out of your plan. Using a job change as an opportunity to access 401(k) funds is generally not<\/em> in your best interest, especially while you\u2019re still working. If you\u2019re under retirement age, you\u2019ll owe the IRS a 10% penalty in addition to income taxes. Your employer will also be required to withhold 20% of your balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Sometimes, keeping it where it is may not be an option if your balance is less than $5,000. In fact, if you do nothing and your balance is less than $1,000, you\u2019ll likely receive your distribution in the form of a check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So, how do you decide if you should keep it where it is or move it out? Since employers design their plans to be \u201cone size fits most\u201d based on what the employer feels will benefit their employees as a whole, it will be up to you to re-evaluate your plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ask yourself these 3 questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Are your old 401(k) investments aligned with your values? <\/em><\/strong>Changing jobs presents the opportunity to align your retirement assets with your values, especially when a self-directed brokerage option is not available. Investment flexibility and more choices are two of the biggest advantages of rolling over your plan to an IRA.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Are you sharing in the cost of administering your ex-employer\u2019s plan? <\/em><\/strong>You may be sharing the financial burden of 401(k) recordkeeping, administration, revenue sharing and trustee costs with your previous employer. Rolling over assets to an IRA generally eliminates all these plan administration costs, making the cost\/benefit of an IRA substantial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Do you monitor your old 401(k) plan\u2019s assets? <\/em><\/strong>It\u2019s easy to say, \u201cI\u2019ll just leave it as is for now.\u201d <\/em>After all, it can be less stressful to stick with the status quo. But just like a hidden leak behind the wall of your home slowly causing water damage, your old 401(k) could be unknowingly causing financial harm and robbing you of future wealth. It\u2019s up to you to keep track of your plan, making sure it\u2019s aligned with your risk tolerance and goals. Old 401(k) plans started when you were in your 20s or 30s will most likely need to be rebalanced when you\u2019re in your 50s or 60s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There are other reasons you may want to consider rolling over an old 401(k). For example, the IRS provides several exceptions to the 10% penalty for distributions taken before age 59\u00bd, but only for IRAs. These exceptions include first-time home purchases, qualified higher education expenses, and living expenses on account of disability. Moreover, qualified charitable distributions cannot be made from an employer plan. Also, if flexibility with designating your beneficiaries is important to you, consider that most 401k plans will not accept customized beneficiary designations. In fact, all plans require that a married plan participant name their spouse as 100% primary beneficiary unless the spouse signs off to permit other beneficiaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Is leaving your old retirement plan where it is ever a good idea? It depends. If you\u2019re considering converting retirement assets into a Roth IRA, then leaving an old plan where it is, may be the best option, at least temporarily. However, you should first consider your new job\u2019s retirement plan (its investment options and costs). Better yet, remember to ask about a self-directed brokerage option. Keep in mind too that any retirement money you roll over into your new retirement plan, will be 100% yours. Also, if you\u2019re retiring prior to age 59\u00bd, many employer plans allow you to start making distributions at age 55.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Need help navigating your old 401(k) or employer plan? Use this link<\/a> to schedule a free consultation. If you\u2019re already a client, log into the Azzad client portal and schedule an appointment with your advisor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re still working, recently changed jobs, or approaching retirement; if you have an old 401(k), 403(b), or 457 plan that\u2019s been sitting untouched after you left an employer, you need to ask some critical questions. Should you: Leave it where it is? Move it to your new employer? Roll it over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17090,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-charitable-giving"],"yoast_head":"\nIs your old 401(k) serving you as best it can? - Azzad Asset Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is your old 401(k) serving you as best it can? - Azzad Asset Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re still working, recently changed jobs, or approaching retirement; if you have an old 401(k), 403(b), or 457 plan that\u2019s been sitting untouched after you left an employer, you need to ask some critical questions. Should you: Leave it where it is? Move it to your new employer? Roll it over […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Azzad Asset Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-29T21:32:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-14T15:19:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"809\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"377\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Azzad Asset Management\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Azzad Asset Management\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bc3577ae09bf890a02d341fc2cbaeb64\"},\"headline\":\"Is your old 401(k) serving you as best it can?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-29T21:32:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-14T15:19:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/\"},\"wordCount\":703,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\",\"Charitable Planning\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/\",\"name\":\"Is your old 401(k) serving you as best it can? - Azzad Asset Management\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-29T21:32:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-14T15:19:18+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can.jpg\",\"width\":809,\"height\":377},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/\",\"name\":\"Azzad Asset Management\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Azzad Asset Management\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Group-2.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Group-2.svg\",\"width\":154,\"height\":49,\"caption\":\"Azzad Asset Management\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bc3577ae09bf890a02d341fc2cbaeb64\",\"name\":\"Azzad Asset Management\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/247d18f1c5ced74a784d34e2f216dc86587b113ea318c1561621d52992cd9329?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/247d18f1c5ced74a784d34e2f216dc86587b113ea318c1561621d52992cd9329?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/247d18f1c5ced74a784d34e2f216dc86587b113ea318c1561621d52992cd9329?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Azzad Asset Management\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/author\/azzadprod\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is your old 401(k) serving you as best it can? - Azzad Asset Management","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is your old 401(k) serving you as best it can? - Azzad Asset Management","og_description":"It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re still working, recently changed jobs, or approaching retirement; if you have an old 401(k), 403(b), or 457 plan that\u2019s been sitting untouched after you left an employer, you need to ask some critical questions. Should you: Leave it where it is? Move it to your new employer? Roll it over […]","og_url":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/","og_site_name":"Azzad Asset Management","article_published_time":"2021-09-29T21:32:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-02-14T15:19:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":809,"height":377,"url":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Azzad Asset Management","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/"},"author":{"name":"Azzad Asset Management","@id":"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bc3577ae09bf890a02d341fc2cbaeb64"},"headline":"Is your old 401(k) serving you as best it can?","datePublished":"2021-09-29T21:32:30+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-14T15:19:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/"},"wordCount":703,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can.jpg","articleSection":["Blog","Charitable Planning"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/","url":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/","name":"Is your old 401(k) serving you as best it can? - Azzad Asset Management","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can.jpg","datePublished":"2021-09-29T21:32:30+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-14T15:19:18+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/blog\/is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Is-your-old-401k-serving-you-as-best-it-can.jpg","width":809,"height":377},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/","name":"Azzad Asset Management","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#organization","name":"Azzad Asset Management","url":"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Group-2.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Group-2.svg","width":154,"height":49,"caption":"Azzad Asset Management"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/azzadasset.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bc3577ae09bf890a02d341fc2cbaeb64","name":"Azzad Asset Management","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/247d18f1c5ced74a784d34e2f216dc86587b113ea318c1561621d52992cd9329?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/247d18f1c5ced74a784d34e2f216dc86587b113ea318c1561621d52992cd9329?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/247d18f1c5ced74a784d34e2f216dc86587b113ea318c1561621d52992cd9329?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Azzad Asset Management"},"url":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/author\/azzadprod\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17089"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23094,"href":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17089\/revisions\/23094"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intelliserver.net\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}