<prompt> Human: I started a new job this past November and opened a new 401k retirement account through this company. After opening the new account I decided to rollover my 2 pre-existing 401k plans from previous jobs into the new account. I called both providers of my pre-existing plans and requested a rollover. I spoke with them and they said that they would mail me a check with my withdrawn funds in the next few business days.Fast forward a couple of weeks and I now have the checks and Im debating on keeping them. I could use the money to pay off my wifes student loans. In total, the checks are for 10 grand. Is this a terrible decision? How much money will I lose? Explanations and advice are welcome.  <response>: Is this a terrible decision? How much money will I lose?Its not a good one. Youll likely lose 30-40 of it between penalty and taxes. Also, youll be 10k farther behind in saving for retirement. Assuming you have 40 years until retirement, that 10k would be around 150k in todays dollars by then.You could roll it into an IRA instead of the new 401k. 