05/26/2025
Have you worked at prior companies and left your 401(k)? If so, they need some love and attention. !
ttps://www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/the-retirement-scam-no-one-talks-about-11-investment-accounts-that-are-quietly-bleeding-value/ss-AA1F3hdf?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=942c5060a24846aebf6dabb5a8c729b5&ei=13#image=
The Retirement Scam No One Talks About: 11 Investment Accounts That Are Quietly Bleeding Value
Story by Jen Wiggins
1. Forgotten 401(k)s in Previous Employer Plans©PickPik
When you switch jobs, you might leave your old 401(k) behind—and those forgotten plans now total more than 29 million accounts, holding roughly $1.6 trillion in assets that continue to incur fees you’re never aware of. Conservatively estimating a 0.5 percent annual administrative fee, that’s $8 billion in fees lost to nobody’s portfolio every year alone. Even worse, you might not even remember which provider holds your account or how to access it.
These straggler accounts also carry outdated investment lineups—think high-fee mutual funds and limited options—so your money sits in underperforming assets rather than pursuing growth. With the SECURE 2.0 Act mandating a “Retirement Savings Lost and Found” database by December 29, 2024, you’ve got no excuse not to hunt yours down and roll it into a low-cost IRA or your current plan, so says MarketWatch. Plus, consolidating accounts makes rebalancing your investments easier, saving you from babysitting a bunch of dusty portfolios. Reclaiming that lost 401(k) could give your retirement a serious glow-up—minus the tragic fees. Think of it as the financial version of finding $100 in an old coat pocket, but like, 401(k)-style.
kommonsentsjane
