Real Answers for Life’s Money Challenges
I got married in 2009.
At the time, I was living in Florida and then decided to move to Germany.
The marriage and moving preparation were tumultuous and fast.
I made no arrangements to transfer the money to another retirement account.
I didnt leave any family or contact in the U.S. Now I am living in the U.S. again.
Is it possible to get information on this kind of lost retirement money?
But its surprisingly easy to do.
People move and change jobs way more frequently than they used to.
About one-third of those people are unaware that they even had a retirement account with their old employer.
Lets start with the state.
Thats where your money would probably be if your balance was less than $1,000.
Our team has compiled alist of creative waysyou can fatten your bank account this week.
This is a long list, so dont get overwhelmed.
Well keep it updated as offers changes or expire.
You could also find abandoned deposits, refunds or bank accounts just waiting to be claimed.
Next, make a list of your past employers and find out who administers their plan.
you’re free to search for a current companys administrator usingFreeErisa.com.
Once you find the administrator, they can tell you whether you have money lying around.
You couldroll it overto an IRA without getting hit with a big tax bill.
The next-best scenario is that your old employer rolled over your account into a special IRA on your behalf.
Its much simpler to keep track of your money when its all in a single place.
We cant change the past, so Im not going to spend too much time lecturing you.
First, youll get the best outcome when you pay attention to your money.
Its essential to know how much youre saving and earning, and what the tax consequences are.
And secondly, a 401(k) is a great benefit.
Robin Hartill is a certified financial planner and a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
Send your tricky money questions to[email protected].
(Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)
You know which ones were talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…
