By Spencer Pringle | September 15, 2015

I can still vividly recall the summer afternoon that my mom burst through our front door, anxiously asking where my little sister was. I was 10 at the time, and my sister was 7. “She’s in the backyard with her friends….why do you ask?” One look out the window gave me the answer: our next door neighbor had been changing his oil, when the car slipped off the jack, crushing him beneath its weight.

I’ve reflected back on that tragic moment many times during my life, always with a different perspective. What if my ill-fated neighbor had simply taken the car to the local service station? Saving a few dollars suddenly seemed insignificant. But don’t we all try to save money now and then by tackling a project that we may not be qualified to handle? Fix the leaky kitchen pipes? No problem. I’ll watch a video online. Re-wire the garage door opener? Can’t be that hard -- just a few wires.

How About a DIY 401(k) Consolidation?

Consolidate my own 401(k) plans? Just a quick phone call should suffice. Wrong! Quite wrong! Don’t believe me? Just take a look at this DIY guide to consolidating your 401(k) plans!

Plumber and electricians exist today because most of us have no business attempting to tackle work that requires skills gained only through years of training and experience. Now I must acknowledge that you won’t flood your home or electrocute yourself by handling your own 401(k) consolidation, but you will likely find yourself staring into an abyss.

Consolidating plans is often the road less traveled, due to the paperwork, lack of direction, and complexities involved in bringing your old 401(k) plan along to your new job. Sure, you could leave it behind….many do. And it wouldn’t be the worst thing you ever do in your life. But if you are serious about retirement, I mean truly serious about saving for retirement, minimizing fees, and maximizing investment strategies, you should keep reading.

Where to Find Help

You won’t find help in the Yellow Pages. Your best friend’s cousin that works for a broker isn’t going to help. Even your know-it-all father in law is bound to find himself in uncharted waters.

Retirement Clearinghouse has been helping participants consolidate 401(k) plans for years. Our case managers understand how to get this done as quickly and efficiently as possible. We have worked with thousands of companies and nearly all the 401(k) plan record keepers, allowing us to take the complex and make it, well, not so complex. We have walls full of customer compliments, from those that had resigned themselves to the fact that they were never going to see these assets consolidated. We’ve helped everyone from novice investors to industry veterans.

It’s time to check this project off your list. Let us get your plans quickly and easily consolidated and get you back on track towards a successful retirement.

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