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The Daily Insight

What happens when you change your 401K investments?

Author

Andrew Ramirez

Published Mar 04, 2026

When you change jobs, you can generally leave your retirement account balance in the 401(k) plan. You might want to maintain a 401(k) plan with a former employer if the plan has especially good investment options, low costs or contains company stock.

How did target date funds do in 2008?

Indeed, the most conservative target-date retirement funds — those designed to produce income — fell on average 17% in 2008 and the riskiest target date retirement funds — designed for those retiring in 2055 — fell on average a whopping 39.8%, according to a recent report from Ibbotson Associates, a Morningstar …

Can you move money out of a 401k plan?

However, you can move your money to lower-cost funds within your 401 (k) plan. Your 401 (k) plan is required to send each participant an annual 401 (k) fee disclosure statement that lists how much each fund in the 401 (k) plan costs to own in a single chart.

How to roll over an old 401k to a new 401k?

Rolling Over to a New 401(k) The first step in transferring an old 401(k) to a new employer’s qualified retirement plan is to speak with the new plan sponsor, custodian, or human resources manager who assists employees with enrolling in the 401(k) plan.

What happens when a company changes your 401k plan?

If the plan sponsor is making a change to the plan’s record keeper, there will definitely be a blackout period and it will usually last longer than the changes to the fund lineup. “Depending upon the specifics, there may or may not be a change to the investment lineup,” Bobarsky says.

Is it bad to change your 401k administrator?

No, sorry. A change of 401 (k) administrator is not an out, otherwise many would flee a bad plan. I’d suggest you only deposit up to the match, but use an IRA if you’d like to save more. A plan with high fees can easily negate the tax benefits and then some.