If you’re trying to jumpstart your 401(k) and find the process confusing, tedious, and time-consuming, you’re not alone. However, not doing one could hurt your retirement savings.

About 42 percent of workers surveyed by Capitalize, a fintech company that helps people transition their 401(k)s, said that rolling over a 401(k) it took them two or more months, while only 22% of respondents said they were able to complete the process without seeking help.

This is a big headache for workers, especially with nearly $1.1 trillion to be transferred individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and 401(k)s this year.

401(k) rollovers are tedious and manual

When workers leave their jobs, there are a few things that can happen to them 401(k)s– they can leave the savings in the old employer’s plan, they can be forced (if it’s a small balance), or they can roll the money over to an IRA or their current retirement plan at work.

Usually to complete rollworkers must obtain a check from the old retirement plan provider. That check should be made payable to the new IRA custodian, not you, according to Brett Koeppel, founder of Eudaimonia Wealth.

In Capitalize’s survey, a majority (80%) of workers surveyed said they had to make a phone call or fill out paperwork to complete their 401(k) rollover. More than half of respondents said they had to do paperwork and 43% said they had to receive and send work check.

Not rolling over 401(k)s could be expensive

Even though the rollover process can be cumbersome, experts generally suggest moving your money from a previous employer’s 401(k).

Workers who don’t rollover the funds risk forgetting about their 401(k) money. A previous Capitalize report estimated that there were 29.2 million forgotten 401(k) accounts with about $1.65 trillion in assets in May 2023. Capitalize’s latest survey confirms that more than half of savers (54%) were initially unsure where their old retirement account was.

Koeppel recommends workers roll over 401(k) funds to an IRA after leaving their former employer.

“When it comes to a 401(k) or any other employer plan, you can be limited in the types of investments that are available to you,” Koeppel said. “When you move money into your own (IRA), you have a lot more control, flexibility and optionality.”

And savers still have work to do once they’ve rolled over their retirement funds into a new IRA — they’ll have to invest them. Failure to do so could mean losing hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of investment earnings. A recent study from Vanguard Looking at data from 2015, 28 percent of workers who rolled their 401(k)s into IRAs left their savings entirely in cash for more than seven years.