Retirement Drift: Half of Gen Z Lost Track of Old 401k Accounts

About a third of American adults say they may have retirement savings from a previous employer that they have completely lost track of, and the problem hits young workers hardest. New research released by Empower on October 19 finds that half of Gen Z respondents and 45 percent of Millennials report losing track of old workplace accounts, a pattern the firm calls Retirement Drift. The survey of just over two thousand adults was conducted by an independent panel provider and weighted to reflect the national population, according to the release.

The finding is less about money vanishing and more about money scattering. Every time a worker changes jobs, their retirement savings can get left behind in a separate account with a former employer, and over a career those accounts pile up. More than half of respondents said they have changed employers at least three times, and nearly two in five agree their savings are now spread across accounts from different employers. According to Empower, that fragmentation makes the full retirement picture harder to see and harder to manage.

The numbers behind Retirement Drift

The scale of the problem surprised even the researchers. A little more than half of respondents said that having savings in multiple accounts makes retirement planning harder, and just under half admitted they have put off dealing with old accounts, like starting a rollover, because the process felt overwhelming. Two in three said they wish someone had explained their options when they changed jobs, while a similar share did not know they had several choices after leaving an employer.

The generational split is the sharpest part of the story. Half of Gen Z respondents said they may have lost track of old savings, compared with 45 percent of Millennials, three in ten Gen Xers, and only about one in seven Baby Boomers. The gap reflects how often younger workers switch jobs early in their careers, before retirement paperwork ever feels urgent. It also reflects avoidance: nearly seven in ten Gen Z respondents said they tend to put off financial tasks that seem complicated, and a clear majority of all respondents said retirement planning feels more confusing than other parts of personal finance.

"Changing jobs is a normal part of a career, but our financial lives don't always transition as neatly," said Jane Bartosik, Empower's senior vice president of wealth solutions. "Deciding what to do with a 401k from a previous employer can take a back seat when you're starting a new job and managing other financial priorities. These accounts can accumulate, making it harder to see your complete retirement picture and know what steps to take next."

Why the fine print matters

There is one caveat worth knowing before taking the numbers at face value. Empower is a retirement recordkeeper and wealth manager that sells rollover and advisory services, so a study about scattered retirement accounts doubles as marketing for its own business. The figures describe people's uncertainty about their accounts, not a measured total of missing money, as ConsumerAffairs noted in its coverage. That does not make the problem imaginary, but it does mean the headline number should be read as a measure of confusion rather than a vault of lost dollars.

Even so, the confusion is expensive. Money sitting in a forgotten account with an old employer is not earning the attention it deserves, and small balances can get eaten by fees or moved into low-growth default funds. Scattered accounts also make it nearly impossible to answer basic questions like how much you have saved in total or whether your investments still match your goals. For a generation that changes jobs often, treating each job change as a moment to handle the paperwork is the habit that prevents the drift.

How to find a forgotten account

The good news is that an account you have lost track of is not money you have lost. Empower's companion guide makes that point and lists practical places to look, and the same steps show up in most consumer-finance advice. Start with the human resources department or plan administrator of the former employer, who can tell you where the account was held. If the company was sold or shut down, search national registries of unclaimed retirement benefits and check your Social Security earnings record, which lists every employer who ever paid you.

Once you find it, you generally have a few options: leave it where it is, roll it into your new employer's plan, or move it into an individual retirement account. Each path has different rules on fees, investment choices, and taxes, so it pays to compare before moving anything. The broader takeaway from the Retirement Drift research is simpler than any single data point: your future self is counting on the paperwork your present self keeps putting off, and a free afternoon spent tracking down one old account is one of the highest-value errands on the list. Read more about how young workers are handling money on the rise of second gigs, the rise in teen gambling, and record holiday spending. The full study is available in Empower's press release, the survey methodology is detailed by Talker Research, and Morningstar republished the announcement with the complete data tables.