So it’s that time of life. No, not your midlife crisis (well, not necessarily). And no, it isn’t a wedding or a birth. We’re not even talking about life insurance (though that might come up once you start looking into this topic). That time of life is the time when you start to wonder whether your 401(k) can do more work for you. It’s that time when that lovely little fund that’s just been happy to take your contributions all along your employment suddenly sits up and lets you know, for one reason or another, that it needs some attention.

Maybe you’re looking for new employment. Maybe that age of 59 ½ is approaching—or maybe 70 ½ is coming on, rather. At 70 ½, you know that unless you meet some very, very specific criteria, you have to start taking out certain scheduled distributions. Whatever the case is, you know that you have to act. So you start hunting: you need 401k advice.

When you start hunting around for 401k advice, there are three things you need to keep in mind. You need to know the following: your intended retirement schedule, your internal expenses in the account, and your current financial situation. On top of all of that, remember that every 401(k) account is different. On the one hand, that’s the beauty of the system. Because each employer has different needs when it comes to setting up retirement plans, section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code—and attendant regulations—allow for flexibility. What that means, though, is that the initial setup discretion is left up to the employer, so you need to know the limits of what your employer has set up.

As we said, though, you first need to have a handle on your retirement schedule. Essentially no matter what (401k penalty-free approved withdrawals aside, since few qualify for those), you’re looking at a 10% penalty on top of the regular income tax if you cash out your 401(k) before you retire. As a little piece of 401k advice, memorize these two numbers: 59 ½ and 70 ½. At the first age, you leave behind the 10% penalty. At that point, you are able to withdraw your 401k funds and only incur income tax. At 70 ½, you either have to demonstrate that you are still working full time for your 401k provider (and owning less than 5% of the company) or else start taking certain minimum distributions from the account, paying the applicable taxes. Plan out where things are headed so you know what will be required of you.

The next piece of 401k advice concerns the internal expenses in the account. Even if you may not be retiring for some time, your current account may have costlier upkeep than some alternatives. This will take a little research to determine.

The third piece of 401k advice comes in knowing your current financial situation. For example, you can worry a little less about the accessibility of your 401k if you already own a house and have completed college. In all cases, though, take this advice: study it out and act carefully!