Should I Roll Over My 401k When I Retire

Pros And Cons: 401 Vs Ira

Understand What You Can Do With Your Old 401

First, take a step back and review your options. There are four things you can do with your 401 through a previous employer:

Theres a chance that option one isnt on the table. Typically, you must have a balance of more than $5,000 to leave money in your old plan. And if you leave 401 funds with your old employer, it might be easy to lose track since you cant actively use or contribute to the account.

Cashing out your 401 is not the right move for most people, either. For one, cashing out triggers a big tax penalty youll have to pay the next time you file your taxes. It also means dismantling part of your all-important nest egg.

So the best option is usually to roll over your 401. The harder question to answer is whether you should roll over your 401 into your new employers plan or into an IRA.

Read Also: What Is Max Amount To Contribute To 401k

Rollovers Of Retirement Plan And Ira Distributions

Information on this page may be affected by coronavirus relief for retirement plans and IRAs.

Most pre-retirement payments you receive from a retirement plan or IRA can be rolled over by depositing the payment in another retirement plan or IRA within 60 days. You can also have your financial institution or plan directly transfer the payment to another plan or IRA.

The Rollover ChartPDF summarizes allowable rollover transactions.

Also Check: Can You Roll Over 401k From One Company To Another

Disadvantages Of An Ira Rollover

A rollover is not for everyone. A few cons to rolling over your accounts include:

• . You may have credit and bankruptcy protections by leaving funds in a 401k as protection from creditors vary by state under IRA rules.
• Loan options are not available. The funds may be less accessible. You may be able to get a loan from an employer-sponsored 401k account, but never from an IRA.
• Minimum distribution requirements. You can generally withdraw funds without a 10% early withdrawal penalty from a 401k if you leave your employer at age 55 or older. With an IRA you generally have to wait until you are age 59 1/2 to withdraw funds in order to avoid a 10% early withdrawal penalty. The Internal Revenue Service offers more information on tax scenarios as well as a rollover chart.
• More fees. You may be responsible for higher account fees as compared to a 401k which has access to lower-cost institutional investment funds because of group buying power.
• Tax rules on withdrawals. You may be eligible for favorable tax treatment on withdrawals if your 401K is invested in company stock.

Neither State Farm nor its agents provide tax or legal advice.

Start a Quote

Invest Your Newly Deposited Funds

You’ll have to choose investments in your new IRA so your money can grow. Make sure to maintain an appropriate asset allocation given your age, and consider your risk tolerance.

Finally, when your new IRA has been opened, be sure to read up on common IRA mistakes to avoid, such as forgetting required minimum distributions, not designating beneficiaries, and trading too often in the account.

Don’t Miss: What Happens To 401k When You Leave Your Job

How The Rollover Is Done Is Important Too

Whether you pick an IRA for your rollover or choose to go with your new employer’s plan, consider a direct rolloverthats when one financial institution sends a check directly to the other financial institution. The check would be made out to the bank or brokerage firm with instructions to roll the money into your IRA or 401.

The alternative, having a check made payable to you, is not a good option in this case. If the check is made payable directly to you, your employer is required by the IRS to withhold 20% for taxes. As if that wouldn’t be bad enoughyou only have 60 days from the time of a withdrawal to put the money back into a tax-advantaged account like a 401 or IRA. That means if you want the full value of your former account to stay in the tax-advantaged confines of a retirement account, you’d have to come up with the 20% that was withheld and put it into your new account.

If you’re not able to make up the 20%, not only will you lose the potential tax-free or tax-deferred growth on that money but you may also owe a 10% penalty if you’re under age 59½ because the IRS would consider the tax withholding an early withdrawal from your account. So, to make a long story short, do pay attention to the details when rolling over your 401.

What Is A 401

A 401 is an employer-sponsored retirement plan that allows you to save money for your future with potential tax benefits. These plans are typically only accessible through an employer, but self-employed people also may establish one. A 401 plan typically is used for building up savings until you have enough resources to stop working.

Don’t Miss: Who Can Open A 401k

Early Retirement Rollovers And Long

Those planning early retirement should note a few things. A person retiring at age 55 or after, but before age 59 and 1/2 could be subject to a 10% tax penalty on early withdrawals from a rollover IRA.

And bless their hearts, several states, including California, add an additional penalty. However, if those same rollover assets had been left in an employer sponsored 401k or 403b plan, for example, an ex-employee can withdraw funds without the penalties after age 55.

Obviously, ordinary income taxes would be paid on withdrawals, but without the penalties. Total taxes would probably be assessed at lower federal and state marginal income tax rates, depending upon the amounts withdrawn and other ordinary income that a person might have.

While this is discussed elsewhere, you should note that a very important Social Security and retirement tax optimization strategy for most healthy people is to delay accepting Social Security retirement payments until age 70.

At the same time to delay Social Security payments until age 70, a retiree obviously needs to have other taxable and tax-advantaged account assets to pay the bills up to age 70.

While it might seem counter-intuitive, it is usually more beneficial to spend down IRA and other traditional tax-advantaged retirement assets during those interim years.

The Affordable Care Act provides health insurance subsidies for lower income persons, and many early retirees would have relatively low income and may qualify for these subsidies.

Beware 401 Balance Minimums

If your account balance is less than $5,000 and youve left the company, your former employer may require you to move it. In this case, consider rolling it over to your new employers plan or to an IRA.

If your previous 401 has a balance of less than $1,000, your employer has the option to cash out your accounts, according to FINRA.

Always keep track of your hard-earned 401 money and make sure that it is invested or maintained in an account that makes sense for you.

Dont Miss: How To Collect My 401k Money

You May Like: Can I Start A 401k

Contribute To Your 401k

In conclusion, I think everyone should contribute to their 401k as much as they can while they have the income to do so. The 401k has the benefit of employer matching and tax deduction so youre saving more than you can in a taxable account. This year I will contribute quite a bit more than the $17,500 maximum in my solo 401k and I will keep it up as long as I can. The only reason why I wouldnt invest is if your 401k doesnt have employer matching AND the plan is just plain bad.

There are ways to access the IRA without having to pay the 10% penalty so I dont think you should worry too much about that. The 401k is a very useful tool whether you plan to retire early or at a normal age so please take advantage of it.

Are you maxing out your 401k contribution? If not, whats stopping you?

Keep Your 401k At Your Former Employer

Under certain circumstances, you might consider leaving your money in your previous employers 401k plan. If your plan offers excellent fund choices with lower fees than their retail competitors, it might be best to keep your money where it is. If the account lacks management fees, thats another advantage to leaving the money where it is.

Keeping your money at your former employer boils down to fees and available investment options. A rollover provides access to greater fund choices, but if youre happy with the fees and the investment options at your former employer, you might want to keep the money where it is.

You May Like: Can I Transfer My Ira To My 401k

You May Like: What Is A Self Directed 401k

Roll Over Your 401 To An Ira

This option makes sense if you want to roll over your 401 and you want to avoid a taxable event. If you have an existing IRA, you may be able to consolidate all of your IRAs in one place. And an IRA gives you many investment options, including low-cost mutual funds and ETFs.

There are plenty of mutual fund companies and brokerages that offer no-load mutual funds and commission-free ETFs, says Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate chief financial analyst.

You also want to just make sure that youre satisfying any account minimums so that you dont get dinged for an account maintenance fee for having a low balance, McBride says. Index funds will have the lowest expense ratios. So theres a way that you can really cut out a lot of the unnecessary fees.

Check with your IRA institution first to ensure that it will accept the kind of rollover that you would like to make.

The letter of the law says it is OK . But in practice, your 401 plan may not allow it, says Michael Landsberg, CPA/PFS, principal at wealth management firm Homrich Berg.

Rolling 401 Assets Into An Ira

When you retire or leave your job for any reason, you have the right to roll over your 401 assets to an IRA. You have a number of direct rollover options:

Rolling your traditional 401 to a traditional IRA. You can roll your traditional 401 assets into a new or existing traditional IRA. To initiate the rollover, you complete the forms required by both the IRA provider you choose and your 401 plan administrator. The money is moved directly, either electronically or by check. No taxes are due on the assets you move, and any new earnings accumulate tax deferred.

Rolling your Roth 401 to a Roth IRA. You can roll your Roth 401 assets into a new or existing Roth IRA with a custodian of your choice. You complete the forms required by the IRA provider and your 401 plan administrator, and the money is moved directly either electronically or by check. No taxes are due when the money is moved and any new earnings accumulate tax deferred. Earnings are eligible for tax-free withdrawal once the IRA has been open at least five years and you are at least 59½.

Rolling your traditional 401 to a Roth IRA. If your traditional 401 plan permits direct rollovers to a Roth IRA, you can roll over assets in your traditional 401 to a new or existing Roth IRA. Keep in mind youll have to pay taxes on the rollover amount you convert.

Also Check: How To Pull Out 401k Without Penalty

How To Decide Whether To Roll Over A 401 To An Ira

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This may influence which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list ofour partnersandhere’s how we make money.

The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.

Many people benefit from turning a 401 into a rollover IRA after leaving a job, often in the form of lower fees, a larger investment selection or both. But it’s important to know the pros and cons before making this decision after all, we’re talking about your retirement savings here.

Distinctions Between Difficulty Waivers And Also Self

Self-certification isnt technically a formal difficulty waiver of the 60-day request. But its effectively the very same, thinking you follow every one of the applicable regulations because you can deal with the payment as a legitimate rollover unless you listen to it in a different way from the IRS.

Suppose the IRS identifies that you didnt satisfy the demands for an official hardship waiver throughout an audit. In that case, you can be examined an earnings tax shortage as well as appropriate charges. So, you would certainly better get it right.

The new self-certification treatment is good news for IRA proprietors that have a legitimate justification for missing the 60-day home window for tax-free rollovers. If youre not sure whether you receive the brand-new IRS procedure or if you need help composing a self-certification letter, talk to your tax expert.

Read Also: How To Create A 401k

How We Make Money

The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.

Also Check: How Does Taking Money Out Of 401k Work

Begin The Rollover Process

Youll have to fill out paperwork to conduct your rollover, and it may require some back-and-forth conversations with your providers. You have several options to actually move the money from the old provider to the new one, but your best option is a direct rollover.

In a direct rollover, the funds are sent straight from your 401 into your new account without you touching the funds. Its important that you specify a direct rollover so that you dont have the check made payable to you. You could trigger a mandatory 20 percent withholding for taxes, and the IRS charges a 10 percent bonus penalty on withdrawals made before age 59 1/2.

Also Check: How To Provide 401k To Employees

Keep Your 401 With Your Former Employer

If youre satisfied with the performance of your 401 under your former employer, you may choose to keep it with your old company, provided the account has at least $5,000 in it. Its important to note that a 401 with less than $5,000 may automatically be deposited into an IRA in your name by the plans administrator, depending on the plan. If the account has less than $1,000, the plans administrator may send you a check for that amount.

While you wont be permitted to make new contributions to the 401 if you keep it with your previous employer, your earnings will remain tax-deferred until you take a distribution. Youll also preserve the ability to roll it over in the future.

When comparing your former companys plan to what your new employer offers, lower fees and better investment options may also lead you to keep your 401 with your old company and forgo a rollover.

Consider Rolling Your 401k Into An Ira If

If transferring to your new employers plan is not a desirable option, or its not allowed, you can establish a Rollover IRA. Rollover IRAs can be established through a bank, a brokerage firm, a custodian and online trading accounts. You can shop and compare fees as well as investment options. The one advantage a Rollover IRA has over an employer-sponsored plan is the range of investment options available. You can usually achieve broader diversification from a wider choice of asset classes.

A Rollover IRA may also be more preferable for people who have more than one 401k plan from former employers. It can be more convenient to manage your retirement assets in one plan.

Important Note: When establishing a Rollover IRA, its important to maintain it as a separate account from any other IRA you might have established. Especially if you plan on making any future contributions.

Because the rollover of a 401k has potential tax implications, it would be important to review your options with a tax professional. In addition, because each individuals circumstances are unique, it would be helpful to seek the guidance of a financial professional. Particularly one experienced in retirement planning to help select the best plan for you.

You May Like: Can You File Bankruptcy With A 401k