eRollover.com401k Plans, 401k Rollovers, & Self-Directed IRA's
(Transferring your 401k from your previous employer into a Rollover IRA)
What is a 401k Rollover?
A 401k rollover occurs when you change jobs or retire and then elect to transfer or "rollover" your 401k into a new IRA. This process of transferring a 401k with a previous employer into an IRA is referred to as a “401k Rolloverâ€, “Rollover IRA†or “IRA Rollover.â€
The assets in your 401k can be transferred from your 401k directly to an IRA via a trustee-to-trustee transfer. A direct rollover from a 401k to an IRA is made tax-free and there is no tax liability. There is no limitation on the dollar amount you can rollover from your previous employer's retirement plan.
Free Stock Trade. Trade stocks for free on Zecco.com. The Free Trading Community. www.zecco.comWhen I change jobs or retire, what are my options for my 401k?
When you leave your employer, you will need to decide what do to with the money you have accumulated in your employer's 401k. For some investors this may represent a sizeable investment. As a result, it is crucial to make an informed decision.
There are several options available to you:
1. Take the money out in Cash
For most investors this is the worst option. Taking a distribution in cash has very serious tax consequences. Your previous employer is required to withhold 20% for federal taxes. The cash that you receive will be taxed as ordinary income. The 20% that is withheld will be used to pay the taxes you owe for your federal taxes. However, depending on your tax bracket you may owe more than the 20% that was withheld when you do your taxes for that year. In addition, you are likely to be penalized 10% if you are younger than age 59 1/2. As you can see, this can be a major setback towards saving for your retirement.
2. Leave the money with your old employer's retirement plan
For many investors who are saving for their retirement, this may be a better decision than Option 1 since you will not be penalized or taxed, however there are some disadvantages. Many investors find it difficult to manage and organize their retirement accounts when they have several retirement plans at previous employers. As a result, investment performance can suffer if retirement accounts are not diversified properly. An even more important issue is most employer's retirement plans have a fairly limited number of mutual funds choices (usually only 10-15).
3. Transfer the money into your new employer's retirement plan
Most employers allow you to do a transfer into their retirement plan. Compared to Option 2 this avoids the potential problem of multiple retirement accounts at different employers and the difficulties of managing your investments and organizing them properly. As in Option 2 the same important issue still applies, as most employer sponsored retirement plans have a fairly limited number of mutual fund choices (usually 10-15).
4. Transfer the money into a Rollover IRA
For many investors a 401k rollover into an IRA is the best option for the money they have saved in their previous employer's retirement plan. Compared to Options 1-3 you have several advantages: increased control, greater organization, improved investment flexibility and investment advice.
Retirement Plan Rollovers: 401k, 403b, 457
(401k rollover, 403b rollover, 457 rollover)
If you have a 401k, 403b, 457 or some other retirement plan with a previous employer, you should strongly consider the benefits of transferring your retirement assets into a Rollover IRA.
The Rollover IRA is a tax advantaged IRA account designed to receive retirement funds rolled over from an ex-employer’s retirement plan (401k rollover, 403b rollover, 457 rollover). The Rollover IRA allows funds to be transferred tax free and penalty free from other retirement plans and allows retirement funds already set aside to continue to grow tax deferred until retirement.
When leaving an employer, some investors believe it is advantageous to rollover your retirement plan into a new IRA versus leaving your money in your old employer's retirement plan or transferring it into your new employer's plan.
Advantages of a 401k Rollover, 403b Rollover and 457 Rollover to an IRA1. Control
When the rollover process is complete, your retirement plan assets from your previous employer will be transferred to an IRA. Since you are the owner of an IRA, you have complete control versus being dependent upon the rules and policies of your former employer's retirement plan. By rolling over your account into an IRA will not have the potential problems seen with some 401k, 403b and 457 plans such as untimely statements, lack of account information, or more importantly, a limited number of investment options. Also, there are a number of other problems that can arise with your retirement plan should your employer have financial troubles and go into bankruptcy. Rolling over your retirement plan to an IRA eliminates these problems and puts you in a position to be in complete control of your retirement account.
2. Investment Flexibility
Your previous employer’s 401k, 403b or 457 plan probably had between 10-15 mutual funds to choose from. A rollover to an IRA will increase your investment options and will improve your investment flexibility. Within an IRA managed by an advisor you can invest in stocks, bonds and over 10,000 mutual funds. We believe that over the long term greater investment flexibility may lead to improved performance through better diversification and increased investment selection.
3. Investment Advice
Are you receiving guidance from a financial professional with selecting the appropriate investments in your 401k, 403b or 457? Probably not. This is perhaps the greatest advantage of a rollover to an IRA. If you opened an IRA rollover account, an advisor would help you select a diversified investment portfolio based on your age, time horizon and risk tolerance.
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