Guidant Financial Group Blog

Yahoo! Finance posted an article today from U.S. News that listed five retirement mistakes to avoid. Mistake number four recommends that you don’t cash out your 401(k) Plan when you switch jobs, but, instead, you transfer the funds to a self-directed IRA. If you simply cash out your 401(k), you are losing all the tax-deferred or tax-exempt (in the case of a Roth) benefits, in addition to paying any applicable penalties. Additionally, the article points out that rolling your funds over to a self-directed IRA will give you more investment options than other accounts.

Other mistakes to avoid?

• Using your IRA as a bank account
• Not making contributions
• Moving money/stocks in a down market
• Not having a post-retirement plan