Still There
MONEY MEETS TAX · EPISODE 21
Irvine · August 2026
Money & Tax in this episode
An old 401(k) · What to do after changing jobs · Rollover choices and taxes
The email arrived on Saturday morning.
Your quarterly statement is ready.
Evan almost deleted it.
Then he saw the name of his old employer.
He opened it instead.
Daisy was at the kitchen table cutting a banana into pieces small enough for Jiwoo to mostly ignore.
“What?”
Evan looked up.
“What?”
“You made a face.”
“I didn’t make a face.”
“You did.”
He turned the laptop toward her.
“My old 401(k).”
Daisy looked at the screen.
“You still have that?”
“Apparently.”
“I thought you moved it.”
“So did I.”
She gave Jiwoo another piece of banana.
Jiwoo dropped it.
“No. I guess I thought I was going to move it.”
“That sounds more like it.”
Evan looked back at the statement.
He had left the company about a year ago.
The account had stayed exactly where it was.
Not exactly.
The balance was different.
There had been no new paycheck contributions since he left, but the money was still invested. Some months it had gone up. Some months it had gone down.
It had continued without him.
His current employer had a 401(k) too.
That one received money from his paycheck.
This one just sat somewhere else.
Two accounts.
Two logins.
Two sets of investments.
Daisy picked up the banana from the floor.
“So it can just stay there for now?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you looking at it?”
Evan thought about that.
“I don’t like having it out there.”
“Out where?”
“At the old company.”
“It’s still your account.”
“I know.”
She waited.
Evan looked again at the balance.
“I want everything in one place.”
Daisy smiled.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The real reason.”
“That’s a reasonable reason.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t.”
Jiwoo hit the table with both hands.
Daisy handed her another piece of banana.
Evan opened another tab.
For the last year, there had always been something more immediate.
The move to Irvine.
The Anaheim house.
The new job.
Jiwoo.
Then the Irvine house.
The old 401(k) had never required anything from him.
So he had done nothing.
Until now.
He started reading.
He might be able to leave the account where it was.
His current employer’s plan might accept a rollover.
Or he could move the money to an IRA.
Daisy sat across from him.
“So three places.”
“Three options.”
“I heard three places.”
Evan smiled.
“Fair.”
He clicked between the old plan and the new one.
Funds.
Fees.
Investment options.
More funds.
More fees.
Daisy watched him for a minute.
“I thought you wanted to combine them.”
“I did.”
“Changed your mind?”
“Not exactly.”
He scrolled back up.
“The old plan has good funds.”
“Okay.”
“And the fees are low.”
She waited.
“The new one is fine too.”
“So neither one is clearly better.”
“Apparently not.”
Daisy nodded.
“That’s less convenient.”
“Exactly.”
Leaving the old account alone meant one more account to keep track of.
Moving it to the new plan could make things simpler.
An IRA could offer different investment choices and more control over where the money was held.
None of that answered the question for him.
By lunchtime, Evan had learned enough to make the decision less obvious.
Which was not what he had wanted.
Daisy put Jiwoo down for her nap.
When she came back, Evan was still at the table.
“You’re still doing this?”
“I’m almost done.”
“You said that before her nap.”
“I was less informed then.”
Daisy sat beside him.
“Okay. Show me.”
Evan turned the laptop.
“Leave it.”
She nodded.
“Move it to the new 401(k), if the plan accepts it.”
“One less account.”
“Yes.”
“Or the IRA.”
“Yes.”
Daisy looked at the screen.
“Which one saves more tax?”
Evan shook his head.
“That’s not really the difference.”
“No?”
“If I move the pretax money directly to another eligible retirement account, I’m generally not paying tax just because I moved it.”
“So this isn’t really a tax decision.”
“Not only a tax decision.”
Daisy looked at the two plan pages again.
“Then what are you deciding?”
That took longer.
Evan scrolled back to the balances.
“I guess where I want this money to live for the next twenty or thirty years.”
Daisy nodded.
“That sounds more important than having one login.”
“I still prefer one login.”
“I know.”
He closed the old plan page.
Not because he had decided.
Because Jiwoo had started crying upstairs.
Sunday afternoon, Evan opened it again.
This time he did not start with the balance.
He looked at the investment options.
Then the fees.
Then the new employer plan.
He made three short notes.
Leave it.
New 401(k).
IRA.
Underneath, he wrote what mattered to him.
Fees.
Investments.
Convenience.
Future options.
Daisy walked past and stopped.
“No spreadsheet?”
“Not yet.”
She pulled out the chair beside him.
“Show me.”
Evan went through the list.
When he finished, Daisy looked at the screen.
“And then?”
“I’ll decide.”
“When?”
Evan looked at the old account balance again.
For about a year, the money had stayed invested while he changed jobs, moved, became a father, and bought another house.
Nothing about it required a decision that afternoon.
“Not today.”
Daisy smiled.
“Also proud of you.”
He laughed.
Then he added one more note beneath the list.
Direct rollover.
Not a decision.
Just a reminder for whenever he made one.
He saved the note.
The old 401(k) was still there.
So was the new one.
For now, that was fine.
The Tax Behind the Story
Leaving a job does not necessarily mean Evan has to immediately move his old 401(k).
Depending on the old plan’s rules and the new plan’s terms, he may be able to leave the money where it is, roll eligible amounts into his new employer’s plan if that plan accepts rollovers, or move eligible pretax amounts to a Traditional IRA.
A direct rollover generally does not create current taxable income when eligible pretax retirement money moves directly to another eligible retirement plan or Traditional IRA. The mandatory 20% federal withholding that generally applies when an eligible rollover distribution from an employer plan is paid directly to the participant does not apply to a direct rollover.
Cashing out is different. Taxable amounts that are not rolled over generally become current taxable income, and an additional 10% tax may apply to an early distribution unless an exception applies.
None of that makes the IRA or the new 401(k) automatically better.
Investment choices, fees, plan rules, convenience, and future planning can all matter. Sometimes moving the money is straightforward.
Deciding where it belongs is the harder part.
Want the tax rules behind the story?
What Should You Do With an Old 401(k) After Leaving a Job?
Leaving a company does not mean you have to cash out or immediately move your retirement account. See how keeping money in an old plan, rolling it into a new employer plan, moving it to an IRA, and taking a distribution can differ, including the tax consequences of each choice.