离职可能让一笔小额 401(k) 账户难以保留：一些雇主的计划会将 1,000 美元以下的账户直接发放现金，或将稍大余额转入个人退休账户（IRA）。
Leaving a job can make a small 401(k) hard to hold on to: Some employers ' plans cash out accounts under $1,000 or move slightly larger balances into an IRA.
直接取走现金走人或许感觉是最简单的选择，但这可能带来短期和长期的财务后果。
Taking the money in cash and moving on can feel like the simplest option, but it can have short- and long-term financial consequences.
一个由主要 401(k) 管理机构支持的系统，旨在让这些储蓄更容易随员工流转到下一份工作。其中一家公司——先锋领航（Vanguard）的最新研究显示，该系统正帮助减少人们提取现金的情况——尽管大部分钱款尚未流入员工新的退休计划。
A system backed by major 401(k) administrators aims to make it easier for those savings to follow workers to their next job. New research from one of those companies, Vanguard, shows it's helping fewer people cash out — although most of the money has yet to reach workers' new retirement plans.
根据先锋领航的研究，在 401(k) 余额不足 1,000 美元的员工中，离职 10 个月内提取现金的比例，从约 50% 降至约 9%，这是在其雇主开始参与一项名为“Portability Services Network”（可携带服务网络）的新系统后出现的变化。在余额介于 1,000 美元至 7,000 美元的员工中，提取现金的比例从 39% 降至 31%。
Among workers with less than $1,000 in their 401(k), the share who cashed out within 10 months of leaving their job fell to about 9% from roughly 50% after their employers began participating in a new system called the Portability Services Network, according to the Vanguard research Among those with balances of between $1,000 and $7,000, the share cashing out fell to 31% from 39%.
“可携带服务网络”是由大型 401(k) 管理机构组成的联盟——包括先锋领航、富达投资和 Alight Solutions 等——联合退休清算所（Retirement Clearinghouse）共同运营，自 2023 年底起开始运行。
Portability Services Network is a coalition of large 401(k) administrators— including Vanguard, Fidelity Investments and Alight Solutions, among others — in conjunction with Retirement Clearinghouse and has been in operation since late 2023.
如果埃隆·马斯克通过“特朗普账户”赠送SpaceX股票，将附带条件 罗斯转换并非适合所有人。当“收益”不值得时：顶级顾问 可负担性危机并非平等冲击所有选民。原因如下 中期选举：可负担性与经济如何影响选民决策 CNBC金融顾问百强：2026年最佳金融顾问、顶级公司排名 CNBC精英顾问：2026年顶级超高净值财富管理公司 运作方式：当一名余额较小的401(k)账户持有者离开参与该网络的雇主时，资金通常会自动转入一个安全港IRA，并留在那里，直到网络将其与该员工新雇主的计划匹配。
If Elon Musk gifts SpaceX stock through Trump Accounts, it will come with a catch Roth conversions aren't for everyone. When the 'juice' isn't worth it: Top advisor The affordability crisis isn't hitting all voters equally. Here's why Midterm elections: How affordability and the economy could affect voters' decisions CNBC's Financial Advisor 100: Best financial advisors, top firms for 2026 ranked CNBC Elite Advisors: Top ultra-high net worth wealth management firms for 2026 How it works: When a worker with a small 401(k) balance leaves an employer that participates in the network, the money is generally automatically rolled into a safe harbor IRA, where it remains until the network matches it with the worker's new employer plan.
随后，余额会从该过渡性IRA转入新的401(k)计划。然而，关键在于，接收方雇主也必须参与该网络，资金才能转入下一家雇主的计划。
The balance then gets rolled into the new 401(k) from that interim IRA. The catch, however, is that the receiving employer must also participate in the network for the money to move to the next employer's plan.
根据先锋集团的研究，截至2026年初，作为这项自动携带网络一部分转入IRA的账户中，仅有6%成功转入了新雇主的计划，主要原因是极少雇主选择加入。其余账户通常仍留在这些过渡性IRA中，等待与另一家参与网络的雇主计划匹配。尽管员工始终可以自行将资金转入新的401(k)，但该网络的初衷是让这一过程自动完成。
In Vanguard's research, just 6% of accounts that have been transferred into IRAs as part of this automatic portability network successfully made it to a new employer's plan as of early 2026, largely because few employers have opted in. The rest generally remained in those interim IRAs, waiting to be matched with another employer plan that participates in the network. While workers can always roll over the money into their new 401(k) themselves, the point of the network is for it to happen automatically.
在所分析的涉及先锋集团参与者的约22万笔转出中，中位数余额仅为200美元，近四分之三涉及金额不足1000美元。根据研究，受影响的典型储蓄者年龄31岁，年收入约2万美元，在该雇主处工作约六个月。
Of the roughly 220,000 outbound rollovers involving Vanguard participants analyzed, the median balance was just $200, and nearly three-quarters involved less than $1,000. The typical saver affected was 31 years old, earned about $20,000 annually and had worked for their employer for roughly six months, according to the research.
现金提取分析基于83家采用了自动携带功能的、由先锋集团管理的雇主赞助退休计划的员工数据。
The cash-out analysis is based on workers at 83 employer-sponsored retirement plans administered by Vanguard that have adopted the automatic portability.
通常情况下，当你与雇主分道扬镳时，如果账户价值超过 7000 美元，你可以将资金留在其 401(k) 计划中。余额低于 1000 美元通常会导致计划将你清算并邮寄支票给你。对于 1000 美元至 7000 美元之间的金额，如果前雇员自己不采取行动转移，大多数计划会将余额转入个人退休账户（IRA）。
Financial consequences of cashing out Typically, when you part ways with an employer, you can leave your money in its 401(k) plan if the account value is above $7,000. Balances under $1,000 usually result in the plan cashing you out and mailing you a check. For amounts between $1,000 and $7,000, most plans roll the balance over to an IRA if the former employee takes no action to move it themselves.
无论是由雇主还是雇员操作，在离职时兑现 401(k) 都可能产生持久的财务后果。提取储蓄的工人可能需要为这笔钱缴纳所得税，如果他们未满 59 岁半，还可能面临 10% 的提前提款罚金。他们还失去了这笔钱随时间增值的机会。
Cashing out a 401(k) when leaving a job, whether done by an employer or the employee, can have lasting financial consequences. Workers who withdraw their savings can owe income taxes on the money and may face a 10% early withdrawal penalty if they're younger than 59½. They also lose the opportunity for that money to grow over time.
根据 401(k) 记录保管机构、可携带性网络创始合作伙伴 Empower 的一项新研究，84% 的工人在职业生涯中至少更换过一次雇主，53% 的人更换过三次或以上，27% 的人至少更换过五次。该报告基于对 2005 名成年人的在线调查。
Most workers — 84% — have changed employers at least once during their careers, while 53% have switched three or more times and 27% have made at least five moves, according to a new study from Empower, a 401(k) recordkeeper and a founding partner of the portability network. The report is based on an online survey of 2,005 adults.
此外，调查发现，50% 的 Z 世代受访者和 45% 的千禧一代表示，他们可能有来自前雇主的退休储蓄却已失去联系。相比之下，X 世代为 30%，婴儿潮一代为 14%。
Additionally, 50% of Generation Z respondents and 45% of millennials said they may have retirement savings from a previous employer that they've lost track of, the survey found. That compares with 30% of Gen X and 14% of baby boomers.
据 Retirement Clearinghouse 可携带性服务网络战略与开发高级副总裁 Steve Holman 称，自可携带性服务网络于 2023 年 11 月启动以来，已完成 53118 笔交易，通过自动可携带性从前雇主计划向新雇主计划转移的资产总额达 7130 万美元。
$71.3 million in assets have made it to new plans Since the Portability Services Network's launch in November 2023, there have been 53,118 completed transactions, totaling $71.3 million in assets transferred from a previous employer plan to a new employer plan via automatic portability, according to Steve Holman, senior vice president of Portability Services Network strategy and development at Retirement Clearinghouse.
Holman 表示，已有 23787 个计划采用自动可携带性，代表 773 万名参与者。他称，401(k) 和类似职场计划的总参与者估计约为 9600 万。
There are 23,787 plans that have adopted automatic portability, representing 7.73 million participants, Holman said. The overall estimate of participants in 401(k)s and similar workplace plans is about 96 million, he said.
霍尔曼表示，有 122 万名符合条件的参与者正在等待与新雇主匹配，自 2026 年初以来增加了 25% 以上。
There are 1.22 million eligible participants waiting to be matched with a new employer, up more than 25% since the beginning of 2026, Holman said.
自动转移流程仍存在障碍。将资金留在安全港 IRA 中，对投资者在财务上可能比提取现金更有利 —— 但管理费可能会侵蚀小额余额，尤其是当资金处于计息现金账户或其他保守型投资时。
Snags remain with the automatic portability process Keeping the money in a safe harbor IRA can be better for investors financially than cashing out — but management fees may take a toll on small balances, especially when the money is in an interest-bearing cash account or other conservative investment.
先锋领航的研究称：“对于许多此类小额账户而言，保守型默认投资的收益可能不足以抵消账户在未匹配期间产生的经常性账户级费用，导致余额面临逐渐被侵蚀的风险。”
"For many of these small accounts, earnings on the conservative default investment may not be sufficient to offset recurring account-level fees while the account remains unmatched, leaving the balance vulnerable to gradual erosion," the Vanguard study said.
拥有 Roth 储蓄的工人面临另一个复杂情况。如果退休储蓄在传统 401(k) 中 —— 以税前缴费方式供资、退休提取时纳税 —— 则会转入传统 IRA。同样，Roth 401(k) 以税后缴费方式供资、未来提取免税，会转入 Roth IRA。
Workers with Roth savings face another complication. If retirement savings are in a traditional 401(k) — funded with pretax contributions and taxed when withdrawn in retirement — it goes into a traditional IRA. Likewise, Roth 401(k)s, funded with after-tax contributions and withdrawn tax-free down the road, go into Roth IRAs.
然而，美国国税局（IRS）规定不允许将 Roth IRA 转入新雇主的 401(k)，即使是 Roth 401(k) 也不例外。
However, IRS rules don't allow for a Roth IRA to be rolled into a new employer's 401(k), even a Roth 401(k).
霍尔曼表示：“我们正在推动未来立法，使 Roth 资金符合自动转移资格 —— 我们的技术目前已可支持这一点。”
"We are advocating for future legislation to allow for Roth dollars to be eligible for auto-portability — our technology can support it today," Holman said.