Your money can work as long as you do—and beyond! But only if we put it to work.
Want content like this in your inbox each week? Leave your email here.
jobs
A Job Jumper’s Treasure Hunt
Changing jobs ranks way up there, as stressful life events go. It can be as overwhelming as undertaking a big move, welcoming a new family member, or saying goodbye to a partner.
One of the great privileges of our work is getting to bear witness to those big moments. And there are ways that our perspective might help smooth the rough edges during times of transition.
In fact, you might think of changing jobs as an opportunity: there are plenty of housekeeping issues that come with change, but it’s also a chance to get some things tidied up.
It’s likely worth the time to track down 401(k) plans from any previous jobs. It may seem like a chore—like going through the garage or getting into the couch cushions—but it could result in finding some forgotten treasure.
Just like loose change can end up spread out all over the couch or the car or the junk drawer, you’ve likely left some resources here and there along your career. But it can’t be put to work if you don’t track it down again.
This reminder applies to a lot of different folks. Young people may have a new job—or two!—every year throughout their early 20s. Even many of my contemporaries have had, on average, maybe a dozen jobs across their working years. The earlier we can get our accounts organized, the easier it will be to keep up the good habits. It’s a potential stressor we can work on before it gets to be a headache!
There are different ways to make the most of those retirement accounts. Some options include leaving them as they are, moving them to a 401(k) with your current job, or rolling them into an IRA at a different financial institution.
The big idea, though, is that a treasure hunt now may provide some comfort even in a challenging transition. It can be such a relief to know that your money can work as long as you do—and beyond!
Questions for us? We’re happy to talk, anytime.
Want content like this in your inbox each week? Leave your email here.
Play the audio version of this post below:
The Job-Jumper's Treasure Hunt – 228Main.com Presents: The Best of Leibman Financial Services
This text is available at https://www.228Main.com/.
The Robots Are Coming!
Some forecast that there will be no jobs in the future, as software and robots and other forms of mechanization take over more and more tasks now performed by actual people. To understand the issue, we need context and background.
Manufacturing output in the US is near record levels, up 30% from the recession levels of 2009. Yet manufacturing employment peaked in 1979 at 19 million workers. The total today is around 12 million workers1. One might say ‘The robots are already here.’
While seven million manufacturing jobs were lost, fifty million jobs were added to the total. Manufacturing jobs were not the only ones that disappeared, however. Millions of other jobs became obsolete. File clerks, telephone operators, laborers with shovels, elevator operators, secretaries, and farm workers were displaced by new machines and new methods.
In a dynamic economy, we perpetually do more with less. In the year 1900, 40% of Americans were engaged in producing our food2. When that declined to under 2%, we didn’t end up with 38% unemployment.
There is another way to look at it. Tens of millions of people are now engaged in occupations that did not exist forty years ago, near the peak in manufacturing employment. Similar change happened between 1900 and 1940, and 1940 to 1980. Why would we doubt that 2010 to 2050 would be any different?
A recent report in the European Parliament concluded that “Humankind stands on the threshold of an era when ever more sophisticated robots, bots, androids and other manifestations of artificial intelligence (‘AI’) seem poised to unleash a new industrial revolution, which is likely to leave no stratum of society untouched.” This presents more opportunity for society than danger, if history is any guide.
It’s going to be exciting. Please call us or write with questions or concerns.
1,2Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
You must be logged in to post a comment.