A new study from Hewitt & Associates shows that about one in two people liquidate their 401k money when they leave a job. When you do this, your nest egg becomes a goose egg. When you cash out your 401k, a huge amount of that money goes to taxes. For example, if you have $5,000 saved up, $2,000 goes straight to taxes if you cash out your 401k when you switch jobs. And it seems to be a generational thing. Almost 70 percent of people in their ‘20s cash out of their 401k plans when leaving a job. At 30, it goes down to 50 percent. But even 40 percent of people in their ‘40s cash out of their 401k plans. You need to leave the money alone and let it grow. You will be much happier in the long run.