Did some financial decluttering

[bjl584]

I had some old savings accounts from back when I was yield chasing years ago, and I had an account at a credit union that was linked to my old employer.
I spent some time closing them out and consolidating everything into my Fidelity account the other day.
Things are much easier to manage now.

The last thing on my list is to roll my old 401K into an IRA, but they are difficult to get a hold of on the phone, and there is no online option to do a roll over for security reasons.
I might have to call them the next time I'm off work so I can sit on hold. There is no call back option either.

[disneysteve]

Good job consolidating. I did the same a couple of years ago. It makes things so much easier to keep track of.

Who is the 401k with? I’ve never heard of not being able to do everything online.

[ua_guy]

I did the same exercise about 2 years ago. Consolidating retirement accounts is tedious even when they're with the same institution. When they're with different institutions it's a pain in the butt. Typically they require a notarized form with spousal signature/consent. Print, sign, go somewhere to get it notarized, send it in the mail....unless you have a fax machine. You can fax it to them if you're stuck in the year 1991.

[bjl584]

Good job consolidating. I did the same a couple of years ago. It makes things so much easier to keep track of.

Who is the 401k with? I’ve never heard of not being able to do everything online.

Empower. It was originally 5th 3rd Bank but switched a few years ago. Anyway, it's been a chore trying to get anything accomplished with them.

[Like2Plan]

I had some old savings accounts from back when I was yield chasing years ago, and I had an account at a credit union that was linked to my old employer.
I spent some time closing them out and consolidating everything into my Fidelity account the other day.
Things are much easier to manage now.

The last thing on my list is to roll my old 401K into an IRA, but they are difficult to get a hold of on the phone, and there is no online option to do a roll over for security reasons.
I might have to call them the next time I'm off work so I can sit on hold. There is no call back option either.

That is so frustrating. But, good for you in your consolidation process.

DH consolidated all his 401ks for simplicity, but also because each one was charging him an annual administrative fee. And, wouldn't you know it- the 401k that had the most was being charged on a percentage basis whereas the one that only had about 2 years worth of contributions was being charged a flat fee (everyone paid the same). But, it is nice not to have to look several places to keep track of it.

[Like2Plan]

I did the same exercise about 2 years ago. Consolidating retirement accounts is tedious even when they're with the same institution. When they're with different institutions it's a pain in the butt. Typically they require a notarized form with spousal signature/consent. Print, sign, go somewhere to get it notarized, send it in the mail....unless you have a fax machine. You can fax it to them if you're stuck in the year 1991.

You know, I was just reflecting on this. I can see the reason for it, but DH's did not require any spousal signature on any of his--he did his starting in 2017 and the last one in 2021. There have been a lot of changes in the law in the past few years, I wonder if the rules have become more strict in this regard?