how do you transfer money from a 401k to a IRA after quitting a job?
92549
You have to contact your 401(k) company and inform them you want to transfer the money into a IRA.  OR you can do it yourself by opting to withdraw all of your 401(k) money and then depositing that into the IRA yourself.  Either way you shouldn't be charged any tax penalties for the transfer.  \n\nIRS 401(k) rollover info:\nhttp://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc413.html
248690
You can contribute $4,000 to an IRA as long as it is incone you have earned. Consider the new Roth IRAs.\n\nGo here: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p590/ch01.html#d0e1464\n\nYou'll get more detailed info there.\n\nGood Luck!
219511
You should check with whoever is managing your plan, or your accountant should know, but this might be helpful:  \n\nDo I have to withdraw all of my 401(k) savings when I reach age 70½?\nWhen you reach age 70½, you're required to withdraw a minimum amount depending on your life expectancy. An actuarial table showing life expectancies is available from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). You must begin receiving these payments by April 1 of the calendar year following the year you turn 70½. \n\nTo determine your required minimum distribution, divide your 401(k) account balance by the number of years remaining in your life or by the remaining joint life expectancy of you and your spouse. Try the calculation both ways. You may find it more advantageous to determine your mandatory withdrawal amount by using both life expectancies instead of yours alone. \n\nYou may have to recalculate this mandatory distribution amount each year because of your account balance and life expectancy. \n\nYou must pay income tax on each of these mandatory distributions. You cannot roll the distributions into an IRA.
99863
You can withdraw money from your 401k without penalty at age 59.5. HOWEVER, you can take 72T distributions (named after the IRS Rule 72T) prior to age 59.5 and avoid the 10% penalty. Rule 72T stipulates that as long as the distributions are substantially equal and based on your life exepctancy they will not incur the penalty. The payments must continue for 5 years or you reach age 65.
125409
If you are still employed by the plan sponsor your withdrawal options may be limited. Read the plan summary you should have received or talk to your HR person. You might be able to take a loan from your account, but it must be repaid within 5 years.\n\nIf the 401k is from a previous employer, then your options are greater. You can roll the account over into a Traditional IRA. This transaction does not trigger any taxation. \nIf you are over 59.5 years old, you can withdraw money from the account. Any amount withdrawn will be taxable to you as income.\nIf you are not over 59.5 and you withdraw money not only will you pay taxes on the amount you withdraw but you will also pay a penalty of 10% of the withdrawn amount.\n\nIf you do not need the money to cover basic living expenses right now, do yourself a favor and roll the money over into an IRA. Work with a financial planner in your area if you would like help deciding upon an appropriate investment strategy.
369277
If the company is still in existence you should be able to call them and request a transfer to a new account (you will need to set a new account up).  Or you get a full distribution, but I don't recommend that, the Federal Withholding Taxes will eat up your money!  Also, if you have a statement from the bank or company that manages the Pension Plan, you may be able to skip contacting your previous employer and just send a transfer request to them.  When you open a new IRA (at the place of your choice, their are many on line places) they should have a form that can be sent to have your old Pension rolled over.  Let me know if you have any additional questions.
1186755
Automatic savings.  Open an IRA for retirement and automatically have $200 per month taken out of your pay and put in that account until you max out on the yearly limit.  You could even more than $200 in now, since the year is half over.\n\nPay yourself first.  You can't spend it if you never see it.  Your old self will thank the smart young self that started saving.
599874
Any place that manages IRAs will help you do the rollover -- after all, they want your money!\n\nIf you're young and don't have any other investments, just put it all in stocks, preferably a stock index fund.  You want to look for a fund with the lowest costs.
610231
You roll your 401K into a traditional IRA, then roll the traditional IRA into a Roth.  You will have to pay taxes on the income, but for some the Roth is a better deal (especially if you want to leave non taxable money to your children).
836184
I presume you're talking about a retirement account (401K or pension) you've got at an employer or perhaps an IRA at some financial instituion and you want to move it somewhere else.\n\nIn order to not have to pay big-time taxes and potentially penalties, your account monies need to be transferred to where you want them to go in a very strictly regulated way.  You'll need to talk to the financial institution where the money is right now and they should have some forms for you to fill out telling them where it needs to go.  Then, they should completely take it from there and the next thing you know, you shoul dbe receiving a notice from the institution you're moving the money to that they've got it there.\n\nIf on the other hand you choose to have them cut you a check that you hand carry or mail to the new institution, the law considers you have realized capital gains and you owe tax on it, even if you pop it right back into the new institution.\n\nThe law pertaining to this is typical pointless Federal bureaucracy that was intended to cvatch a few cheats.  Don't try to buck the law, have your current institution  handle it.
341439
You can beginning making withdrawals from an IRA without penalty at age 59 1/2 (you still have to pay regular income taxes, unless it's a Roth IRA).  See the following government publication:\n\nwww.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590.pdf
725978
You can cash it in with a substantial penalty.\nYou can let it sit there and hopefully grow.\nYou can roll it over into a IRA\nYou can roll it over into another 401K\nThe part of it that YOU contributed through you\npay is always yours, The part that your employer matched (if they did) is "vested' over a period of time, so if you were there less than a year\nthe part THEY contributed they probably take back.\nif you were there 5 years, it's probably all yours also.
985867
A roth account might be good or bad for you.  They're not good for everyone.\n\nA 401k or IRA is just a type of account, and has nothing to do with how much of a return you can get from your investment.  If you are investing in mostly a diverse mix of stock funds, you should expect a long term average return of 7-9%.  In some years you will get more (like 13%), and some years you will lose money).  In either type, you'll be investing in a mix of mutual funds.  The benefit of a roth IRA has to do with taxes.\n\nHere's the benefit:  With a 401k or traditional IRA, you pay no income taxes now on the money you put in.  You pay income taxes when you withdraw the money in retirement.  With a roth IRA, you pay the income taxes now, and pay no taxes on the money you withdraw in retirement. \n\nIf your income tax rate is lower now than it will be in retirement, you do not want a roth account.  If your income tax rate will be higher in retirement than it is now, then a roth account would be good for you.\n\nHERE'S HOW YOU SWITCH:\nYou "rollover" your 401k balance to a traditional (pretax) IRA.  That means you tell the company that has your 401k to transfer the money directly into an IRA.  As long as you don't receive a check payable to yourself, you'll pay no taxes or penalties.  You then "convert" the traditional IRA to a roth IRA.  This is something the company that handles the IRA does for you.  Basically, they take taxes straight out of the IRA and send them to the IRS.  This makes the money in the IRA after tax, or "roth" money.\n\nBUT...\n\nTo be able to transfer the money from the 401k to the IRA, you'll have to have already stopped working for the company.  AND your company might have the "roth 401k" feature, which allows you to contribute to your 401k plan with after tax money and have exactly the same benefit as the roth IRA.  ALSO if your company matches your contributions to your regular 401k, that will probably outweigh any benefit you could possibly get from the roth IRA.\n\nYou need to talk to the company that manages your 401k plan to find out what your options are.  And call a company that does IRAs to find out more details on the roth IRA to find out if it would be a good fit for you.  Try Fidelity or Vanguard.
362002
You need to choose a custodian for your IRA, and request the employer to have the lump sum transferred to that custodian.  This will take some planning, filling out forms, etc. Check with HR, and of course with other recent retirees.\n\nIf you plan to retire 2 years or so in the future, just file the info away for future reference.  But a layoff could hit sooner, so it's good to be prepared!
53875
OK, you CANNOT roll a 401k account directly into a Roth IRA. You can roll your money into a Traditional IRA and avoid any taxation and penalties. (Definetly a good idea.)\n\nYou could then convert your Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, but in doing this you would have to include the amount you convert as taxable income (pay income tax on the full amount). This may push you into a higher tax bracket, depending on your income and the size of your account.\n\nAssets in a Traditional IRA will be taxed when you withdraw them in retirement while the Roth IRA assets can be withdrawn tax free in retirement. Speak with a financial planner to help decide which choice is best for you.
709782
If you rolled it into a new 401K or IRA account you don't need to do anything else, as you should not be taxed on anything.  If you withdre any funds however before the roll over, then you will need to report it on your tax return,
879992
To roll it over into your name makes it a taxable event unless you are the spouse.  Once the taxable event has happened and you claim this on your income taxes, the money becomes "Non Qualified" money, and you do not have to continue taking the distributions.  Really bad advice from this bank.  They want you to roll it over with them so they can make the commission again!  I'd contact a reputable insurance company, and have them roll it over into an annuity, and let this money sit and grow tax deferred for years.  This could be quite a nest egg when you get ready to retire.  Don't do the annuity with the bank, or broker the interest tends to be lower because you have a middle man.  Let me know if I can put you in touch with someone that can make this simple and right.