by Angela K. Sugimura
If you’re terminating with an employer, either voluntarily or involuntarily, you may now be seriously considering what to do with the money in your employer-sponsored retirement plan, if the plan allows. If your balance is large enough, you may have the option of leaving it where it is. In some cases, this makes sense. For instance:
– If there is a possibility that you may return to your former employer, it might be appropriate to leave the funds where they are. This should particularly be considered for government employees participating in 457 plans, which typically provide penalty-free retirement income much earlier than an IRA or 401(k).
– If you will reach age 55 or older at the time of termination, maintaining a 401(k) plan gives you an option to begin taking distributions prior to age 59 ½ (beginning at age 55) without incurring an IRS penalty. Rolling funds to an IRA negates that option.
– If you have an investment in your former employer’s stock, once you have made a partial or full rollover to an IRA, the Net Unrealized Appreciation option is no longer available.
– Funds in a 401(k) account are generally not available to creditors, whereas in some states, IRA assets may be available to creditors in the event of bankruptcy.
If your new employer offers a retirement plan, you can always move your money there. However, you’ll be limiting yourself to the investment options that the new plan has to offer. By rolling your money into an IRA instead, however, you’ll not only have greater control over and access to an extensive array of investment options, your assets will maintain their tax-advantaged status as well.
And with a rollover IRA, you can combine money from both employer-sponsored plans and existing IRAs into a single IRA account. Consolidating your assets can help you simplify your finances, cut down on paperwork, manage your beneficiary designations efficiently, and keep track of investment performance. Not only will your assets be easier to manage, you’ll be able to keep working toward your retirement goals by making additional contributions to your new IRA – up to $5,000 in 2012, $6,000 for IRA holders age 50 or older.
For more information on rolling your retirement assets into an IRA, contact your financial professional today.
Angela K. Sugimura is a Senior Vice President/Investments and Branch Manager with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, member SIPC and New York Stock Exchange, and can be reached by calling the firm’s Murrieta office at (951) 461-7220 or toll-free at (866) 894-2461.