Oct 6, 2026 · 14 min · 9 segments
What if a forgotten retirement account is still sitting somewhere with your name on it? Katherine Groce and Lawrence Kiely discuss the growing number of overlooked 401(k) accounts and why so many…
Catherine GrossGuestLawrence KielyGuestSavvy Investor HostHostIn fact, over the course of our careers, most baby boomers, I read, have about a dozen jobs over the course of their career, and that typically means that we forget about the 401(k)s at a former employer.
But I want you to listen here, Catherine and Lawrence, to just how much money people have forgotten about.
$2.1 trillion is sitting right now in orphaned 401[k] accounts.
That represents about 32 million different retirement accounts just hanging out there in the wind, just kind of doing nothing right now.
And government figures show that number is up 30% just over the last three years.
First of all, why are we forgetting our money? Can you explain this? Does this really happen in real life?
So I- I think the, the, the big reason is you truly, especially early on in your career, is it is a kind of set it and forget it mentality when it comes to the 401[k].
Mm-hmm
Um, and then you kinda just, it, it just comes out of the paycheck, especially if you're doing pre-tax and you're not doing Roth 401[k] contributions.
You're doing pre-tax money, and you kinda just forget about that it's even...
You don't really notice it on the paycheck or on your pay stub, um, or on your cash flow.
Normally there's an advisor on the 401[k] that you never communicate with or you don't even know exists.
Um, so you're just saving into it, and you don't, sometimes you don't even realize it's there.
You know, everything's done via, you know, electronic delivery nowadays especially, so you're not getting paper statements, and you kinda forget that you have a 401[k] there, and then you leave the employer, and you forget it's there.
[laughs] You admit it.
[laughs] Okay.
In fact, over the course of our careers, most baby boomers, I read, have about a dozen jobs over the course of their career, and that typically means that we forget about the 401(k)s at a former employer.
But I want you to listen here, Catherine and Lawrence, to just how much money people have forgotten about.
$2.1 trillion is sitting right now in orphaned 401[k] accounts.
That represents about 32 million different retirement accounts just hanging out there in the wind, just kind of doing nothing right now.
And government figures show that number is up 30% just over the last three years.
First of all, why are we forgetting our money? Can you explain this? Does this really happen in real life?
So I- I think the, the, the big reason is you truly, especially early on in your career, is it is a kind of set it and forget it mentality when it comes to the 401[k].
Mm-hmm
Um, and then you kinda just, it, it just comes out of the paycheck, especially if you're doing pre-tax and you're not doing Roth 401[k] contributions.
You're doing pre-tax money, and you kinda just forget about that it's even...
You don't really notice it on the paycheck or on your pay stub, um, or on your cash flow.
Normally there's an advisor on the 401[k] that you never communicate with or you don't even know exists.
Um, so you're just saving into it, and you don't, sometimes you don't even realize it's there.
You know, everything's done via, you know, electronic delivery nowadays especially, so you're not getting paper statements, and you kinda forget that you have a 401[k] there, and then you leave the employer, and you forget it's there.
[laughs] You admit it.
[laughs] Okay.
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