Are you changing jobs soon? If so, you’ll obviously be interested in your new salary — but you’ll also want to look at other financial considerations.
Here are some of the most important ones: 401(k) — If you had a 401(k) plan through your previous employer, you’ll need to decide what to do with it once you’ve joined a new employer. You could just cash it out, but you’d pay taxes and possible penalties. You could leave your 401(k) with your previous employer, if allowed, and if you have been happy with your plan’s performance. Or you could move your 401(k) into your new employer’s plan, which might be a good choice if the new plan has lower fees and attractive investment options. You’d also want to ask whether the new employer offers matching contributions. Finally, you could roll over your old 401(k) into a traditional IRA, which would give you more investment choices.
HSA/FSA — If your new employer offers a health savings account (HSA) as part of a high-deductible health plan, you may want to take advantage of it. Your contributions are made with pre-tax dollars, your earnings generally grow tax deferred and your withdrawals are tax free, as long as they’re used for qualified medical expenses. Plus, you can carry unused funds through retirement, when you can still use them for qualified medical expenses. Your employer might also offer a flexible spending account (FSA), which can pay for a variety of health care costs, such as deductibles, co-payments and co-insurance. Generally, if you’re contributing to an HSA, you can’t fund an FSA in the same year, except for a limited purpose FSA.
