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Comment by throwawaybbqed | Hacker News Reader

I have like 20K in a 401K when I worked at Microsoft a long time ago. This is around the 2008 fiasco. I just converted everything to cash. I didn't do a rollover when I changed employers (I think there is some time limit which I have likely exceeded). I've been trying to figure out if I can make use of that cash. The confusion is that the plan I was in was for Microsoft employees. Can I still use their plan's investment options?? I also don't want to incur any tax implication ... literally the cash has been sitting there for years because I am too stupid to figure out all the details. It is just sad :(

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> I didn't do a rollover when I changed employers (I think there is some time limit which I have likely exceeded).

There are several "timelimit" related aspects to 401k rollovers, neither would apply in your circumstance. You sound anxiety paralyzed like you made some "unfix-able past mistake" and there is zero reason for you to be.

> It is just sad :(

See my other comment about consolidating all of your legacy 401ks into a single robo-advisor (betterment/wealthfront/etc). It isn't hard, mainly consists of sending a few emails to HR departments and forwarding a few paper checks. Any robo-advisor will have a support team that will hold your hand through the process for free - they want to earn your business.

This is at Fidelity, right? You can still use the exact same investment options as when you were a Microsoft employee, you just can't add to the account. The Microsoft 401k has some of the lowest fee investment options out there, so when I left MS and analyzed my options, I decided to leave my money in there instead of rolling it over. Do you have a NetBenefits account for the website? If not, you'll have to call Fidelity, but they should be able to sort you out pretty easily.

Thanks ... this is useful info. I was thinking I'll park the cash in a low-cost market tracking fund. I think markets are overvalued now but better to do this now than waste another decade :/

401k’s don’t have taxes and Microsoft employees don’t get secret better investment options than you do. Just move it into Betterment and forget about it.

Actually they do - the combined Microsoft 401k fund is large enough that they can reduce fees compared to normal places. I think most of the indexes I am invested in were at something like 0.05% costs. It's similar to the benefit of Vanguard Admirals shares.

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