Something happened to you this week. Maybe not this week; maybe it was this month, or this year, or even just sometime in this life—but now you’ve come here, looking for 401k information. That is fantastic! There is no better place to start your search for more knowledge about the inner workings of 401(k)s than right here, right now.

The key, though, is that you can’t let your quest for 401k information stop here. As you keep reading, you will find a fantastic overview of the basic elements of Internal Revenue Code Section 401(k) as it applies to you and your life, but you’ll start to realize that that particular section of the IRC gives a surprising amount of leeway when it comes to setting up a 401(k) plan. While that leeway might not translate directly into amazing 401k withdrawal benefits or significant 401k penalty-free rollovers in every case, it’s the kind of leeway that means something very, very important:

When somebody sets up a 401(k) plan, that somebody controls a lot of the details.

When you’re looking for 401k information, then, you definitely need to start with the basics. Like we said, here is a great place to start. You’ll find information on 401k rollovers, 401ks versus IRAs, solo 401ks, and all sorts of topics. What it comes down to, though, is that with that background, you go find out about your individual 401k. (By individual 401k we don’t necessarily mean a 401(k) plan set up with you as the sole benefactor; it might be a corporate 401(k) plan where you’re one of the benefitted employees.) Your personal 401(k) situation will consist of the factors of the institution providing your 401(k) plan, your general work and retirement plans, and your current financial standing.

In looking up 401k information, then, you can’t necessarily stick to the web; it’s just as important to get on the phone. If you don’t yet have a 401(k) plan, but your employer provides that option, get on the phone with the people who run that 401(k). Get information from them about the possibility of taking a loan against that 401(k), the cost to roll the funds over to another retirement account, and everything else you learn from reading through this basic 401k information. Once you know the structure of the most likely 401(k) fund your money will start going to, you are able to make a judgment: do I opt in there or do I open an IRA? (That information, too, you can get a beginner’s sense for by reading through this site.)

If, on the other hand, you do have a 401(k), you might be who we initially addressed in the opening paragraph. Maybe you just lost your job, got another offer, or are getting close to retirement. Now you want to know what to do with your 401(k). You might even be young and looking to cash out early. Whatever the case, looking for 401k information needs to start with the basics and then, like with those we just addressed above, needs to be followed up with phone calls and specifics. Once you have what you need to know, you can act the way you should—so read on.