1. THE FOUR OPTIONS — Leave it: viable, the old plan doesn't appear to require a minimum balance mentioned here, but comes with the ongoing 0.85% expense ratio drag plus a flat $75/year fee. Roll to new employer plan: viable, and is offered. Roll to an IRA: viable, always an option regardless of employer plans. Cash out: viable but not indicated as being considered, and covered only briefly below for completeness. 2. FEE COMPARISON — This is the clearest signal in your case. 0.85% versus 0.05% is a meaningful gap on $38,000. Roughly, over 20 years assuming similar market returns, the extra ~0.80% annual drag from the old plan compounds to a noticeably lower ending balance — a common rule of thumb is that an extra 0.8% in annual fees can cost on the order of 15-18% of the final balance over two decades of growth, which on a starting $38,000 (before any future contributions) could mean a difference in the tens of thousands of dollars by retirement, depending on actual market returns. Add the flat $75/year fee on top, which is a fixed drag that matters more the smaller the balance. The new employer's plan is unambiguously cheaper. 3. TRADITIONAL VS. ROTH HANDLING — Balance is entirely Traditional, and the new employer's 401(k) can accept a Traditional rollover directly, so no mismatch risk here. 4. EMPLOYER STOCK CHECK — Not applicable, no employer stock in the old plan. 5. CASH-OUT — Not indicated as being considered, so no penalty/tax math needed, but for reference: at age 34, cashing out would trigger the 10% early withdrawal penalty plus ordinary income tax on the full $38,000, likely costing 30-40% of the balance depending on your total tax bracket — this is not something to consider here given it isn't part of your situation. 6. CREDITOR PROTECTION NOTE — Both a 401(k) and an IRA would carry reasonable protection for your situation; not a deciding factor here given no stated creditor concern. 7. RECOMMENDATION — Roll the old 401(k) directly into the new employer's plan. The fee gap alone (0.85% plus a flat annual fee, versus 0.05% and no separate fee) makes this the clear choice, and it also simplifies things to one account going forward rather than splitting between an old plan and a new one. 8. HOW TO ACTUALLY DO IT — Contact the new employer's plan administrator and request a direct (trustee-to-trustee) rollover from the old plan; this avoids the old plan withholding 20% for taxes, which happens automatically with an indirect rollover, and avoids the 60-day window to redeposit funds to avoid that withholding being treated as a taxable distribution. The new plan administrator can typically initiate this and provide the exact paperwork or online request process for the old plan.