Wait...where did my retirement money go?

Wait...where did my retirement money go?

From This Is Uncomfortable by Marketplace

April 2, 2026 · 36 min

About this episode

Reema explores what happens to retirement savings when changing jobs and how to track down forgotten accounts, discussing the challenges with experts.

What happens to your retirement savings when you leave a job? And if you’ve forgotten about an old 401(k) account, how do you track that money down? That’s the mystery Reema is trying to solve this week, as she confronts her own financial anxiety and goes searching for retirement accounts left behind at previous jobs. Along the way, she talks with retirement expert Geoffrey Sanzenbacher about just how common this is -- only about 15% of people roll their retirement savings over to a new employer's plan! And she asks behavioral economist Katy Milkman why this kind of chore feels so hard. Plus, brain hacks that will help you get through that daunting financial to-do list. If you liked this episode, share it with a friend. And let us know what you think by emailing uncomfortable@marketplace.org or calling 347-RING-TIU. And follow us on Instagram and Tiktok !

People in this episode

Host: Reema

Guests: Geoffrey Sanzenbacher, Katy Milkman

Topics covered

  • retirement savings
  • 401(k) accounts
  • financial anxiety
  • behavioral economics
  • financial to-do list

Keywords

  • retirement
  • 401(k)
  • financial anxiety
  • Geoffrey Sanzenbacher
  • Katy Milkman
  • behavioral economics
  • financial planning

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Marketplace

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