The money you forfeit when you cash out of your 401(k) can be staggering | Money [Video]

(CNN) — When you quit your job, one of the biggest decisions you’ll have to make is what to do about the money in your retirement account if you’ve been saving in your company’s 401(k).

You typically have three options: Leave it where it is if the employer allows that. Roll it over to another tax-deferred retirement account such as an IRA or the 401(k) at your new job. Or just cash it out.

While a majority of 401(k) participants who switch jobs choose the first or second option, a large minority cash out, according to recent studies. It’s on average 33%, according to Vanguard Investments, analyzing data from more than 1,500 401(k) and 403(b) plans covering nearly 5 million participants.

A recent study from the Yale School of Management, meanwhile, examined a far smaller sample of nine company 401(k)s, each of which had both auto enrollment and auto escalation features — meaning …