While Changing Jobs, Simplify Your Financial Life

How many times have you said to yourself that you wish that investing was not so complicated?  It is a fact, investing is complex.  There are a huge number of choices and decisions that need to be made, investing becomes complex.  On top of this, unless you are an expert, the terms used are seldom clear and often hard to understand.

What To Do Financially When Changing Jobs

One of the best times to meet with a financial advisor is when you change jobs.  An advisor can often provide advice about benefits packages offered by your new employer.  They can also help you make sure that your beneficiary designations are correct and provide advice on your life and health insurance needs.  They can explain the investment choices in your new employer’s 401k and tell you how much you should contribute to take full advantage of your new plan. 

This is the ideal time to take care of something known as “orphan” 401k accounts.  When changing change jobs, people often leave their 401k accounts behind.  Changing jobs involves lots of paperwork: personnel forms, tax forms, benefit health insurance forms, retirement forms, etc.  This is often the time people do not want to go to the trouble of transferring the old 401k or rolling it into an IRA.  That means that the job-hopper often leaves a series of “orphan” 401k plans behind; each one of them representing a part of their retirement savings.  A financial advisor has the experience to guide you through the process.

When we first meet new clients, we often find that they have accounts with several investment firms.  Some do this because they believe they are diversifying.  In reality, that’s not what diversifying means.    They are just complicating their lives unnecessarily. 

Conclusion

Changing jobs is an ideal time to consolidate your investments, create a formal retirement plan and review your estate plan to ensure your family is taken care of. 

This is the role we play in our clients’ lives.  In fact, we have written the book on it: Before I Go, complete with a fill-in-the-blank workbook. Before I Go Workbook. 

If you have recently changed jobs or are planning to change jobs soon and you would like this kind of guidance, give us a call at 757-638-5490 or use our contact page for a free introductory appointment. You will be glad you did.