The way we communicate has changed. It's quite the curious evolution. We communicate primarily with our phones, everyone hangs on their phones, and it's not like the 'old' days, remember? When you'd hang on the phone for HOURS talking to your best friends about class, how stupid your siblings are, how mean your parents are for not letting you hang out at the mall, or babysitting and talking to your boyfriend for hours, and then hurriedly hanging up when the parents arrived home! You couldn't move around either...it was tethered to a wall!
Today it's emailing, texting, messaging and Instagram that you use to communicate...all from your smart phone. People seem to hate to talk on the phone anymore. When I ask a younger person to make a call, I hear, "Can I just send an email?" No! Call and talk to them, we humans are designed for connection. We've become fearful of making mistakes. Misunderstanding a comment or question or saying something that might be perceived as inappropriate. We're fearful of making that call and want to do it the easy way and send an email or text. It's not the right thing to do, but it's easier. Hmm.
"The more we avoid the thing that is causing us fear, the more fearful we become."
That brought me around to the thought of what I do for a living. I strive to make things easier, take the fear out of investing. I know there are many individuals out there that have multiple accounts sitting in various 401(k) plans with former companies where they were employed. It can be terribly complicated and time consuming to call for the paperwork, to do the paperwork, send the paperwork and then make the follow up calls. A plan participant leaving an employer typically has four options (and they may engage in a combination of these options), each choice offering certain advantages and disadvantages. These options include:
- Leave the money in their former employers plan, if permitted.
- Rollover the assets to their new employers plan, if one is available and the plan permits rollovers.
- Roll the funds over to an IRA Rollover in your name.
- Cash out of the account.
Then, you have to make decisions about what to invest it all in! Wow...that's scary. So it's FEAR that keeps the money there for years, potentially untouched, unattended and possibly lagging in growth.
Does this sound familiar to you? Do you know anyone that seems to keep saying, "Yeah, I should do that" but doesn't? I would love to help them sit down and get organized and get over the fear. I'll help go thru the process of exploring the various options for their old 401(k) and go over the advantages and disadvantages of each option, so you don't have to work so hard later in life.
Let's make a plan!
Please pass this blog post along to someone you want to help. I'm happy to take the time to sit and explain and then create a plan to get their funds where we can have more investment choices for their future. Let's see what makes the most sense.