If Roger Ma hadn’t happened to check his old accounts, he might never have realized that the cash that rightfully belonged to him and his wife was missing.
In March, a few months after his wife quit her job at Amazon, Ma, a certified financial planner in Washington, D.C., said she randomly logged into her former employer’s 401(k) account. They transferred the account to an individual retirement account in February, but there was still a ton of money sitting there.
In the end, it turned out that her employer’s matching contribution was due two months after her last day.
They’re not the first family to leave behind (mostly) money when they quit their jobs. As of July 2025, there will be 31.9 million 401(k) accounts left behind or forgotten, worth about $2.1 trillion, according to retirement account rollover firm Capitalize.
If you recently left your job, either voluntarily or as a result of layoff, your workplace retirement account is just one item worth revisiting. In a recent LinkedIn post, Ma wrote: “Otherwise, you may end up leaving money behind without realizing it.”
Here are three potential hiding places for your money that are worth discussing with your HR department before you leave.
1. Update old workplace plans
If you quit your job and take no action on your workplace retirement account (such as a 401(k) or 403(b)), one of three things can happen. If you have more than $7,000 in your account, your funds typically remain in your former employer’s plan (some plans may operate below the previous $5,000 threshold). For example, it may be desirable if your plan comes with good, low-fee investment options, experts say.
But it can also lead to a scenario where a large portion of your money is out of sight and forgotten, says Marr.
If your account balance is less than $7,000, your company has the option to transfer the funds to an IRA in your name, but it can get lost in the wash as well, Marr says. Also, if your investment is less than $1,000, your company may cut your check for that amount, and if you don’t reinvest it in a similar retirement account within 60 days, it will be considered taxable income and you may be subject to early withdrawal penalties.
Generally, your best bet is to roll your work funds into an IRA with your favorite brokerage so you never forget.
“The sooner you can do it after you quit your job, the better, because you either become apathetic or life just happens and you’re not going to do it,” he says.
2. Reconfirm your match with your employer
You may not be the only one spending money on workplace plans. Many employers offer to cap employee contributions up to a certain percentage of their salary. But money doesn’t start coming in from day one. Instead, these funds typically have vesting schedules, and if you leave the company before a certain period of time, your employer may have to forfeit some or all of the funds you put into it.
“With a 401(k) match, what you need to know[if you’re leaving your job]is the vesting schedule and whether you’re fully vested or partially vested,” Marr says.
Under the Internal Revenue Code, companies can typically offer one of two models:
1. 3-year cliff: Employees receive 100% of the company’s compensation after working for the company for 3 years. If you leave the company before then, you will receive 0% of the amount contributed by the company.
2. 6 years of scoring: 6 years of service gives you 100% of the match. Until then, vesting is partial. 0% after 1 year, 20% after 2 years, 40% after 3 years, and so on.
Ma suggests discussing the vesting schedule with your human resources representative when you retire, along with the timing of contribution matching. Some companies may contribute your entire paycheck, he says, while others operate more on an intermittent basis and may contribute to your match after you leave the job.
If you find out your company has made or plans to make a contribution after you retire, make a plan to roll the money into an IRA, says Marr.
3. Spend money in your flexible spending account
Depending on your employer and the type of insurance you have, you may have access to flexible spending accounts, which typically allow you to put money into an account that you can use to pay out-of-pocket medical, dental, and vision exam costs for you and your dependents. Contributions are exempt from federal income taxes.
Typically, the entire election period is yours by January 1st, even if you decided on your annual contributions during the previous year’s election period and put money into your account with each paycheck.
So if you spend all your remaining funds before you leave, “you’re a winner as an employee,” says Sarah Taylor, senior director of employee spending accounts at Willis Towers Watson. “You can use the full amount for the year even if you are made redundant or don’t make matching contributions.”
Even if you are laid off, you may still have time to spend the money in your account, Taylor said. Some employers will allow you to cover FSA-eligible expenses until your last day of employment, while others will give you benefits until the end of the month.
However, the same rules do not apply to dependent care FSAs, which cover the costs of children under 13 or elderly dependents. These are funded in stages through contributions from your paycheck, so you can’t spend what you didn’t put in, Taylor says. Some employers allow you to cover expenses until the last day, others until the end of the calendar year.
In both types of accounts, funds typically follow a “use it or lose it” rule. Any money not deposited into your account by the Company’s deadline will be returned to the Company.
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