Retirement + 401(k) options

Your 401(k) is usually the largest account you own, and a layoff turns it from autopilot into a decision, but rarely an urgent one. For balances over $7,000 there's no deadline, which is exactly why the calm, considered choice beats the rushed one. The traps are specific and avoidable: the small-balance force-out, the 20% withholding snare on indirect rollovers, rolling out of Rule-of-55 access at 55+, and the one real deadline (an outstanding plan loan).

The full breakdown is in what to do with your 401(k) after a layoff; it slots into the days-30-to-60 stretch of the 90-day money plan, after the clocks that actually expire.