Small Retirement Accounts From Old Jobs: Find Them, Check Fees, Decide

• 1. Make a list
• 2. Update your contact details
• 3. Check the fees
• 4. Decide: leave it, move it, or combine it
• 5. Keep one page
• Tools that help

Short jobs leave small balances behind: a few hundred or a few thousand in a workplace retirement plan you no longer think about. Left alone, they can be forgotten, charged fees, or lost when you move house and the letters stop arriving.

§1. Make a list

For every past employer, write down the plan provider, the approximate balance and how you log in. Old pay slips, offer letters and tax documents usually name the provider. If you cannot find it, the former employer’s HR or payroll team can tell you.

§2. Update your contact details

Providers lose track of people who move. Update your address and email on each account, and check the named beneficiary while you are logged in.

§3. Check the fees

Look for the yearly account fee and the fund costs (often shown as an expense ratio or annual management charge). A flat $50 yearly fee on a $1,000 balance is 5% a year, which can wipe out the growth.

§4. Decide: leave it, move it, or combine it

• Leave it if the plan has low fees and good funds.
• Move it into your current workplace plan if that plan accepts transfers and is cheaper.
• Move it into an individual retirement account in your own name if you want everything in one place.

Use a direct transfer between providers where possible. Taking the money out as cash usually triggers tax and, in many countries, early withdrawal penalties. Rules differ by country and plan type, so read the provider’s transfer form or ask them before you request anything.

§5. Keep one page

Once a year, write the balance of each account on one page next to your other savings. It takes ten minutes and makes it obvious when a small account is ready to be combined.

§Tools that help

• Black Friday Deal Tracker spreadsheet ($2.99, Google Sheets + Excel): set a total, track target vs sale prices, and see spent, saved and left, per person and in total: https://smartbudgetsheet.gumroad.com/l/ykmstz?utm_source=nostr&utm_campaign=bf_article
• Retirement savings calculator: https://smartbudgetsheets.surge.sh/calculators/retirement-savings-calculator/?utm_source=nostr
• Compound interest calculator: https://smartbudgetsheets.surge.sh/calculators/compound-interest-calculator/?utm_source=nostr
• Price in Work Hours, a free Chrome extension that shows prices as hours of your work: https://smartbudgetsheets.surge.sh/extensions/price-in-work-hours/?utm_source=nostr
• 42 free budget templates, pay what you want ($0 is fine): https://smartbudgetsheet.gumroad.com/l/ngpkrb?utm_source=nostr

General information, not financial advice.