How to Convert 401k to IRA

You may think you're managing your future by simply maintaining a qualified retirement plan offered by an employer, such as a 401(k), 403(b), or municipal 457 plan. But are you? Some retirees take a passive approach to their own retirement assets, preserving accounts with previous employers for the sake of simplification. But this simplicity has significant costs. Lets look how to convert a 401k to IRA.

First, let's consider 401k fees which are notoriously higher than they need to be. These fees are hidden to you but they take a BIG bite out of your money making the act to convert a 401k to an IRA most compelling.

Say you have thirty five years to retire and a 401(k) account balance of $25,000. Let's say that the yield on your account averages seven percent and fees and expenses reduce your average returns by 0.5 percent. Under this scenario, your account balance will grow to $227,000 at retirement, 35 years from now. If fees and expenses are 1.5%, however, your account balance will appreciate to only $163,000. The one percent difference in fees and expenses would cost your account $64,000, or 28% less. Therefore, high 401k plan fees can really dent your retirement and keeping fees down, by controlling them yourself, is critical.

If you have a retirement account with just one employer, you may have ideal investment options and may even pay low service fees, so it might be wise to leave your pension assets in your ex-employer's retirement plan.

But when you have multiple retirement accounts with different ex-employers, where your investment choices tend to be limited, you might want to take into account combining your resources into one conventional Individual Retirement Arrangement (you only need one IRA to receive funds from multiple company retirement accounts).

To convert a 401k to IRA could offer you greater flexibility when compared to your current plan in terms of greater investment opportunities. For example, some employer sponsored retirement plans may possibly offer limited investment options, one of which would be the employer's stock. That constraint could put the retirement savings in danger, particularly if your financial savings are concentrated within a few funds as well as in a single company's stock. As opposed, a self-directed IRA which could give you a variety of investment alternatives, allowing you to potentially allocate your retirement resources more appropriately as outlined by your personal investment targets.

It might be difficult to handle investments spread among multiple retirement programs. If you have more than one retirement account, converting the 401ks to an IRA will make it simpler to manage and monitor your investments with even less paperwork. In addition, maintaining retirement assets in one location simplifies IRA beneficiary options and also estate planning.

The actual mutual funds available using your current plan could have high expense rates. A small savings associated with even half a point in fund costs can mean thousands of dollars more in your account over a couple of years. Note that these fees are in addition to the 401k plan fees analyzed above. In your own IRA, you might have control over the assets you select and the cost ratios you feel are appropriate. The mutual fund cost calculator provided by the Securities Exchange Commission can help define precisely how many dollars. Go to www.businesses.gov, and click on 'Calculators for Investors' beneath 'Investor Information.'

The best media: When you convert 401k to IRA rollover, no cash is actually distributed for your requirements; it moves directly into the convert 401k to IRA account. Consequently you're not taxed unless you withdraw the money afterwards, and 100% of your retirement assets can continue to be on a tax-deferred basis.

To convert 401k to IRA assets is largely about the ex-employer mandated mechanics. If you are currently working, you may be unable to convert 401k to IRA dollars as many plans do not permit "in-service distributions." Otherwise, if you have already terminated employment or are about to, to convert 401k to IRA assets is simply a matter of completing the employer's paperwork as specified.