I found $11,800 sitting in an old 401k from a job I left at 22, and I have no idea what to do with it
I almost deleted the email because I thought it was spam.
Last week I got a notice from a retirement plan company saying I still had an account from a grocery store job I worked in college. I’m 29 now. I only worked there for about 18 months and honestly forgot they even had a 401k match. I logged in through the company site, not the email link, and there’s $11,800 in the account.
I’m weirdly embarrassed that I didn’t know this existed.
The money is invested in some target date fund with a 0.62% expense ratio. I currently have a Roth IRA with around $19k in it, a new 401k through my current job, and about $7,500 in emergency savings. No credit card debt. I do have $14k left on my car loan at 5.9%, but the payment is manageable and I’m not behind on anything.
The old plan is sending me a letter saying they may start charging a $6 monthly maintenance fee if I leave it there. I’m trying to figure out whether I should roll it into my current 401k, roll it into an IRA, or just leave it alone for now. I’ve read about rollover IRAs messing with backdoor Roth stuff later, but I’m not sure if that’s something I should care about at my income. I make $74k right now.
Is there any reason not to roll this into my current employer’s 401k if the fund options are decent? Also, what should I watch out for so I don’t accidentally create a tax mess? I feel dumb asking, but finding money you forgot existed is somehow more stressful than exciting. Would love to hear what order you’d check things in.