A Costly Mistake That 401(k) Investors Would Be Wise to Avoid

Cashing out of a 401(k) plan is a common and costly mistake that workers make with their retirement savings. Simply avoiding that mistake can boost your retirement account balance by $153,000 — or more — if the stock market behaves in a very ordinary, moderate way over the course of 35 years. And that may leave you another 10 or 15 or even 20 years to build your nest egg more.  One in every three investors cashes out of their 401(k) account before age 59-1/2, often when they change jobs, says a recent Fidelity study. Cashing out is especially common for millennials — the generation whose members range in age from 21 to 37. Millennials are nearly four times more likely to cash out than baby boomers are when they change jobs, according to a new study by Capital Group, parent of American Funds. Some millennials cash out intentionally because they are in dire need of money for some urgent expenditure such as a home-purchase down payment. But in most cases, cashing out of a retirement