<prompt> Human: I left an employer a few months ago and my 401k balance has not changed aside from standard fluctuations. Is that normal? I expected the non-vested part to disappear.Assistant: Anything you put in will always be 100 vested immediately because it was always your money. It would only be the employer match that would require vesting and even that may come with partial vesting where its something like 33 vesting each year until its all vested in three years. Ask your old HR to clarify the vesting schedule.Human: I know that and how much is vested...but the non-vested portion is still there after leaving. Well it ever go away? Is it normal for it to still be showing?  <response>: This is normal. If you dont remove your balance, the non-vested balance should remain showing for the next five years. The reason behind this is that you have an opportunity to resume employment with this company and continue gaining credit for years of service and therefore increase your vested percentage in employer contributions. If you take a distribution cash or rollover then the non-vested balance is forfeited and is moved to a forfeiture account within the retirement plan. You can still go back to work for this company if you go back within five years to start accruing years of service and a claim on this money. Most people dont know this and dont take advantage of it. You would need to contact the retirement plan provider and say, Hey! Im back! Move that non-vested money back into my account so I can claim it when my vesting has increased!The forfeited non-vested money is not necessarily distributed to everyone else. The employer has a few choices on how they want to use forfeited money. They can:1. Apply forfeited balances toward plan expenses most common.2. Use forfeited balances to fund employer contributions like matching and profit sharing contributions. also very common3. Allocate forfeited balances to the accounts of active and eligible participants not so common. 