9 tips and answers about your 401K and IRA:
- Why You Might do a 401(k) Rollover to an IRA
- What Are Your Rollover Options?
- Traditional vs. Roth IRAs
- Direct vs. Indirect 401(k) Rollover to an IRA
- Choosing Your IRA – Managed or Self-Directed?
- Best Places to Rollover Your 401k
- Let Your 401(k) Plan Administrator and Your IRA Trustee Do the Heavy Lifting
- Why You Might NOT Want to do a 401(k) Rollover to an IRA
- Summing Up a 401(k) Rollover to an IRA
Why You Might do a 401(k) Rollover to an IRA
1. Direct control over your retirement plan.
If you prefer having direct control over your retirement plan, then you will want to do a 401(k) rollover into an IRA. Since they are employer sponsored plans, managed by a plan administrator, it can often seem as if there’s an invisible wall around a 401(k). If you’d like easier access to your retirement funds, and less bureaucracy in making decisions, an IRA is a better choice.2. More investment options.
Many 401(k) plans limit your investment options. They may offer a small number of mutual fund options – such as one index fund, one international fund, one emerging market fund, one aggressive growth fund, a bond fund and a money market fund – plus company stock. If you want to spread your investments to other sectors, or to invest in individual stocks, you will do much better with an IRA account. Many 401(k) plans limit your investing activities to stock and bond funds. If you’d like to invest in other asset classes, like commodities or real estate investment trusts (REITs), they have no options. But a self-directed IRA can enable you to invest and trade in virtually limitless investments.3. You’re unhappy with the investment performance of your 401(k).
If you’ve been watching the market rise by 50% over the last five years, but your 401(k) has risen by only, say 30%, you’re probably anxious to do a 401(k) rollover into an IRA. Though there’s no guarantee you will be able to outperform the market in an IRA, you’ll at least have a chance to match the market. And if that’s better than what you’re 401(k) plan has been doing for the past few years, it may be time to make a move.4. Escaping high fees.
401(k) plans can contain – and even hide – a large number of fees. There may be a fee paid to the plan administrator, as well as to the plan trustee, in addition to mutual fund load fees, trading commissions and other charges. In a 401(k) plan, you have no control over the fees. But by doing a 401(k) rollover into an IRA, you will have greater control. For starters, you will eliminate any fees associated with the plan administrator. But you can also choose to invest through a discount broker, and trading only no load mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs). The seemingly small 1% or .50% reduction in fees with the IRA could make a huge difference in your long-term investment performance.5. Consolidation of accounts.
If you have multiple retirement accounts, you’re paying multiple plan fees. But it can also be more difficult to create a comprehensive investment strategy while juggling several accounts. It may be more efficient and less expensive to simply consolidate your various accounts in just one super IRA. That will both lower the cost of retirement investing, and simplify your life.What Are Your Rollover Options?
If you leave your employer, you have three basic options in regard to your 401(k) plan:1. Take a cash distribution now.
This can make sense if you have an immediate acute need for the cash. That can be caused by an extended period of unemployment, or a major medical event. But you should always avoid taking a cash distribution from any retirement plan for less than a true emergency situation. Not only will you be depleting an account that was established for the long-term goal of retirement, but there will also be tax consequences. Though the IRS does provide a list of permitted hardship withdrawals, they will only enable you to avoid the 10% early withdrawal penalty. You’ll still have to pay ordinary income tax on the amount of the distribution.2. Leave the money in the plan.
If you’re satisfied with the plan overall, and particularly with the investment performance, this can make sense. It also has the advantage you may be able to roll it over into the 401(k) plan of a new or future in the employer.3. Do a 401(k) rollover to an IRA.
You might do this for one, some or all of the five reasons given in the last section. The advantage here is by doing a 401(k) rollover into an IRA, you can take control of the money, but avoid having to pay either income tax or an early withdrawal penalty on the money. And of course, this option is the main topic of this article.Traditional vs. Roth IRAs
If you do decide to do a 401(k) rollover to an IRA, your next decision will be whether to do the rollover into a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA. We’re just going to do a high-altitude review of this topic, since I’ve already written about doing a 401(k) rollover to a Roth IRA. We’ll review the basics on traditional vs. Roth IRAs here, but then we’ll get back to the main focus of this article, which is doing a 401(k) rollover into a traditional IRA. Let’s keep it simple by looking at the pros and cons of doing a rollover into each type of IRA.Traditional IRAs
Pros:- You can do a full 401(k) rollover to an IRA without any tax consequences
- Future contributions to a traditional IRA are generally tax-deductible
- This option makes greater sense if you fully expect to be in a lower tax bracket in retirement than you are in right now (defer high, withdraw low – tax rates, that is)
- Distributions from a traditional IRA are taxable upon withdrawal.
- Required minimum distributions (RMDs) must begin at age 70 1/2, forcing you to slowly liquidate the plan, and incur tax liabilities as you do.
- This option will make little sense if you will be in the same or higher tax bracket in retirement than you are right now.
Roth IRAs
Pros:- You can take tax-free distributions from a Roth IRA as long as you are at least 59 and 1/2, and the Roth plan has been in existence for at least five years.
- RMDs are not required on a Roth IRA; this is the only type of retirement plan that does not require them. This can enable you to continue growing your plan for the rest of your life, and even reduce the possibility you will outlive your money.
- A Roth IRA is an excellent strategy if you expect your tax bracket in retirement to be equal to or higher than it is right now.
- Distributions from a Roth IRA will not increase the amount of your Social Security benefit that will be taxable.
- You will have to add the amount of your 401(k) rollover to a Roth IRA to your income in the year(s) of the conversion(s). The amount of the rollover will be subject to ordinary income tax, though not the 10% penalty for early withdrawal.
- The amount of the conversion could push you into a higher tax bracket, say from 15% up to 25%, or even 33%.
- The conversion will make less sense if you expect a much lower tax bracket in retirement.
Direct vs. Indirect 401(k) Rollover to an IRA
- Withholding taxes – since the distribution from the 401(k) plan is going directly to you, the plan administrator is generally required to withhold an allowance for taxes. It’s either 10% or 20% of the amount of the distribution.
- You must complete the transfer of the 401(k) distribution funds to an IRA account within 60 days, otherwise the entire distribution will become subject to both income tax and, if you are under age 59 1/2, the 10% early withdrawal penalty.
- You will have to add $20,000 of non retirement cash to the IRA transfer, in order to make the full amount of the rollover, or
- You will rollover just $80,000, and the $20,000 that didn’t make it into the IRA because of the withholding taxes, will be subject to ordinary income tax, and possibly a 10% early withdrawal penalty.
Choosing Your IRA – Managed or Self-Directed?
- If you have little or no investment experience
- Have a bad track record of managing your own investments
- Aren’t really interested in the mechanics of investing
- Have a busy life, and no time for investing
- You’re comfortable having someone else manage your money for you
- You’re an experienced investor
- You’re comfortable with your ability to invest successfully
- You have a deep interest in investing
- You have the time and temperament to manage your own investments
- You don’t trust anyone else can do a better job managing your investments
Best Places to Rollover Your 401k
1. Discount brokers.
These will be the best option for you if you want a self-directed account. They have the lowest fees, including and especially trading commissions. This will be especially important if you plan to be an active trader. Discount brokerages also tend to provide the greatest number of investment options. Most discount brokers DO provide a wide variety of trading tools, investment assistance, and educational resources! Examples of discount brokers include Ally Invest, Charles Schwab.2. Full service brokers.
These brokers are better for managed accounts. In fact, that’s the specialty of most brokers in this category. They will either offer direct personal management of your account, or set you up in predetermined portfolios based on your risk tolerance and goals. Full service brokers are a perfect choice if you want investing with a personal touch. You’ll be assigned a personal financial advisor who will manage your investments for you. This will provide you with hands-off investing, though your financial advisor may keep you in the loop with all investment decisions. The downside of full-service brokers is they typically require a fairly large investment portfolio. For example, they may have a minimum managed account value of $50,000, $100,000, or even $500,000. The second negative is fees. You can generally expect to pay fees in excess of 1% of your total account value. That means if your total rate of return on investment is 7%, your effective rate will be something less than 6%. That’s not a bad trade-off for professional investment management, but you’ll have to decide if that will work for you. Examples of full-service brokers include Edward Jones, Ameriprise, Wells Fargo Advisors and Raymond James.3. Robo-advisors.
These are automated online investment platforms. Once you sign up for and fund a robo-advisor account, they will perform all of the investment functions of a human investment advisor, except the entire process is fully automated. This means the portfolio and investment selection, reinvesting and account rebalancing are handled by a computer algorithm. These accounts are perfect for hands-off investing. They usually have very low or even nonexistent minimum account balance requirements, and charge very low fees for their services. Those fees may be as low as 0.25%. The downside of robo-advisors is they lack physical locations, so you won’t be able to drop in to discuss your investments. And since they’re automated, the customer service aspect is often limited. There are dozens of robo-advisor platforms, but two of the most prominent are Wealthsimple. Both accommodate IRA accounts, as well as regular taxable investment accounts.4. Mutual Fund Families.
If you want hands-off investment management, and you’re primarily a long-term, buy-and-hold type of investor, mutual fund families can work well for you too. These are investment companies that have an entire portfolio of mutual funds and/or ETFs. Since each fund is essentially a managed portfolio by itself, you just have to choose which funds you will invest in, and then you can sit back and relax. If you use a fund family, you should favor no-load funds. These enable you to purchase positions in funds without having to pay the load fees that typically run from 1% to 3% of the value of the fund. However, since you’ll be unlikely to actively trade funds, fees will generally be less of an issue than they will be with other account types. Examples of mutual fund families include the Vanguard Group, Fidelity Investments, T. Rowe Price, and American Funds. Each of those companies have dozens or hundreds of funds for you to choose from, including index funds and sector funds.Let Your 401(k) Plan Administrator and Your IRA Trustee Do the Heavy Lifting
Why You Might NOT Want to do a 401(k) Rollover to an IRA
In most cases, doing a 401(k) rollover to an IRA will be the right choice. But at the same time, no discussion of a 401(k) rollover to an IRA would be complete if we didn’t also spent some time on why you might not want to do this kind of rollover. What are some reasons why you might choose to keep your 401(k) plan exactly where it is, even though you no longer work for the company?- You’re perfectly happy with everything about the plan, including the performance, the investment selections, and the structure.
- The 401(k) plan you have is comparable in most or all respects to whatever type of IRA account you would roll over into.
- Your 401(k) plan is being professionally managed, but without the professional investment management fee.
- Creditor/lawsuit/bankruptcy protection – 401(k) plans are protected from all three under federal law, but IRAs may or may not be protected by state law. If the laws in your state don’t protect your IRA, you may be better off leaving the money in the 401(k) plan.
- 72(t) distributions – if you lose your job or take early retirement at or after turning 55, you can take penalty-free distributions from a 401(k) plan, but not from an IRA.
- You might be able to transfer your old 401(k) plan to the 401(k) plan of a new employer, which is generally not the case with IRA accounts.
- RMDs don’t apply to a 401(k) if you are still working after age 70 1/2. They will be required on IRA accounts.
I recently did a rollover of my Arizona 403b into a traditional IRA. Only $13,400 of the account balance of $17,800 made it to the account. When I called, they said it’s because once you forfeit your membership they cut the interest rate you were earning from 8% to 2%. Is this a thing?? I can’t find info on it anywhere on the web.
Hi Laura – Every plan is different, and especially with government sponsored plans. If that’s the limitation they have written into the plan contract, then yes, it is true. But you might want to do some specific research to confirm it. At a minimum, ask for the paperwork that explains the forfeiture.
great article…very informative. your comment on RMD not applicable after 70-1/2 if you are still working is correct, but if you no longer work for that company, the plan administrator will transfer the RMD to your personal account by March of the following year.
Thanks for the information Darrell!
I’m 68, my tax liability for this year is currently $0 because we lived off SS. We’re thinking about converting $50,000 from IRA to Roth IRA which would make our tax liability $8,200. How do you decide if the additional taxes are worth it?