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A Rollover IRA
Question: I was recently hired for a job in the public sector, working for the state of New York. My previous job was in the private sector. My 401(k) from my previous job is still being administered by my former employer, and it's now worth about $108,000.
The benefits administrator of my present employer has told me that I am not allowed to roll my 401(k) into any pension or savings plans that my employer offers. What are my options for doing something productive with my 401(k), instead of just letting it sit there? Tim, NY, NY
Answer: A rollover IRA (Individual retirement Account) is designed for circumstances just like yours. It's a routine transaction. First, figure out what financial institution offers the mutual fund options and services you'd like. They'll have the forms online for making a rollover IRA, but I always recommend calling the 1-800 number and ask for a human being to walk you through the process. The reason is that you want to make sure that your retirement savings are transferred institution to institution. In other words, you don't touch the money. It goes from your 401(k) to the financial institution you've picked for your IRA. This way you preserve the pension's tax shelter.
About the author
Christopher Farrell is economics editor of Marketplace Money, a nationally syndicated one-hour weekly personal finance show produced by American Public Media.
I work for New York State and was able to roll over my 401(k) from a previous job into the NY State Deferred Compensation Plan. I don't know why you would have been told that you can't, I don't know of anything that has changed since I did it in 2000.
Hi Chris,
You didn't complete your recommendation. I did exactly what you recommended when I rolled over my 401(k) but, to my surprise, my old company sent the withdrawal check to me instead of to my Rollover IRA company. In this case, one has 60 days to deposit the check into their new or exisiting Rollover IRA account or pay the taxes and penalties for the 401(k) withdrawal.
