In Brief: Sep. 27, 1999

ROLL IT OVER! Last year 57% of job-hoppers chose to cash out their 401(k)s rather than roll the balance over to a new account, according to a Hewitt Associates study. That’s a mistake, even if the balance seems too insignificant to roll. Federal and state taxes, plus a 10% penalty for withdrawing funds before age 59 1/2, can eat up nearly half of a $10,000 distribution. But if a 30-year-old rolls that money over and cashes out at age 60, the account would total some $97,000 before taxes, and the worker would take home a good $60,000. Now that’s worth a little paperwork.

FALSE SECURITY The Federal Trade Commission and six states are nailing companies for bilking consumers out of more than $25 million through worthless credit-card “loss-protection” programs. Federal law already limits consumer loss due to unauthorized charges to $50, but telemarketers are talking up computer hackers and Y2K glitches. Some claim consumer-protection laws have changed, and others pose as credit-card employees who need to “activate” new protection features on your card. Don’t give out personal information unless you initiated the contact. To file a complaint, call 877-FTC-HELP.

CORRECTIONS The boys were given too much credit last week when this column incorrectly stated that all-male investment clubs had beaten the S&P 500 by 0.56% in a recent study; Brown University researchers found that male groups actually trailed the index by that figure. As reported, though, mixed-gender groups beat the S&P handily. Also, because of a computer error, hyphens were incorrectly inserted into two web addresses last week: MetaMarkets.com and StockJungle.com

–By Julie Rawe