Let's get one thing straight - you are already a Future Rich Person!! You did the hard thing first and you've been putting money away for Future You for 20 years now…which means you have been doing something most people never even start. The part you skipped was just knowing where it went and that's totally fixable.
Here's the step by step I want you to do this week:
First, go find your money.
You're going to want to write down every company you've worked for and then get in touch with their HR department. Ask them about your 401k and who holds the account. If you don't remember or they don't know, you can also go to unclaimedretirementbenefits.com, give them your Social Security number, and see if any retirement accounts have been reported in your name. It literally takes two minutes - do it while you brush your teeth! Lol.
Then put it all in one place.
Once you know what you've got, roll everything into either your current employer's 401K or a Traditional IRA in your own name. This is called a rollover, it's free, and it's not taxable when done correctly. The key is making sure the money goes directly from one account to another without you ever touching it.
Then actually look at what's inside.
So many people discover their 401K has been sitting in a default money market fund earning basically nothing bc they never chose their investments when they first enrolled. If that's you, it's super common and easy to fix, but the sooner the better. A target date fund is the easiest starting point - you just have to pick the one closest to when you plan to retire and it automatically adjusts as you get older.
And make sure you're getting the full match going forward.
At your current job, make sure you're contributing at least enough to get whatever your employer matches. This is free money, and we never turn down free money!! If you're over 50, the IRS also lets you contribute an extra $7,500 a year on top of the regular limit as a catch up contribution.
In conclusion…..you have 20 years of contributions sitting somewhere right now begging for you to pay attention to them. When you find it all and pull it together you might actually be shocked by what's there in a really, really, really good way.
You came here saying you want to be a Future Rich Person. This is literally what that looks like. Def not perfect from the start but you're willing to figure it out when it matters.
Good luck!!
Let's get one thing straight - you are already a Future Rich Person!! You did the hard thing first and you've been putting money away for Future You for 20 years now…which means you have been doing something most people never even start. The part you skipped was just knowing where it went and that's totally fixable.
Here's the step by step I want you to do this week:
First, go find your money.
You're going to want to write down every company you've worked for and then get in touch with their HR department. Ask them about your 401k and who holds the account. If you don't remember or they don't know, you can also go to unclaimedretirementbenefits.com, give them your Social Security number, and see if any retirement accounts have been reported in your name. It literally takes two minutes - do it while you brush your teeth! Lol.
Then put it all in one place.
Once you know what you've got, roll everything into either your current employer's 401K or a Traditional IRA in your own name. This is called a rollover, it's free, and it's not taxable when done correctly. The key is making sure the money goes directly from one account to another without you ever touching it.
Then actually look at what's inside.
So many people discover their 401K has been sitting in a default money market fund earning basically nothing bc they never chose their investments when they first enrolled. If that's you, it's super common and easy to fix, but the sooner the better. A target date fund is the easiest starting point - you just have to pick the one closest to when you plan to retire and it automatically adjusts as you get older.
And make sure you're getting the full match going forward.
At your current job, make sure you're contributing at least enough to get whatever your employer matches. This is free money, and we never turn down free money!! If you're over 50, the IRS also lets you contribute an extra $7,500 a year on top of the regular limit as a catch up contribution.
In conclusion…..you have 20 years of contributions sitting somewhere right now begging for you to pay attention to them. When you find it all and pull it together you might actually be shocked by what's there in a really, really, really good way.
You came here saying you want to be a Future Rich Person. This is literally what that looks like. Def not perfect from the start but you're willing to figure it out when it matters.
Good luck!!