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If you've ever changed jobs, you might still have an old 401k tied to your previous employer. Many people wind up leaving their 401ks behind as the process of transferring (or “rolling over”) your 401k can be time-consuming and confusing.
It's our mission to make 401k rollovers easy, and we've built a service to handle the entire process for you online - for free!
Interested in how it works? We’ve broken down the 401k rollover process into 3 simple steps:
Track down your old 401k
In order to process your rollover, we’ll need to know a couple things:
- Where’s your 401k? We’ll need to know the financial institution where your 401k account is located. This institution is often referred to as your “401k provider”. If you don’t know, no worries! We can look it up for you based on your previous employer.
- Do you have a Traditional or Roth 401k? This will determine which type of IRA you’ll need to open (see step 2). The vast majority of people have a traditional 401k. Only 15% or so of 401k plans even offer a Roth choice, but it’s worth checking.
Just the way your contributions were taxed. With a Traditional 401k, your contributions came out of your paycheck with no taxes paid. With a Roth 401k, your contributions came out after taxes were withheld.
Open an IRA
Already have an IRA? Great — skip this step
There are a few choices you have with an old 401k, but most people who move their 401k assets transfer their 401k funds into an Individual Retirement Account, or IRA.
When choosing an IRA, you’ll want to decide whether you prefer to pick your investments yourself, or have them managed for you. Some IRA providers focus on managing your assets for you, while others let you open an account and pick investments yourself.
Once you’ve decided on a provider, you’ll want to open an IRA that matches the ‘tax-type’ as your 401k in order to avoid paying any unnecessary taxes:
- If you have a Traditional 401k, you’ll need a Traditional or Rollover IRA.
- If you have a Roth 401k, you’ll need a Roth IRA.
Authorize your rollover
Once you have your IRA open, you’ll need to instruct your 401k provider to send your 401k money over. This part can be tricky and varies depending on who your 401k provider is. Some institutions require you to fill out a form, others require a phone call with you and most will physically mail you a check to forward on to your new IRA provider. If you don’t know your way around these processes, you risk losing a ton of time and possibly failing at getting your money transferred.
The good news is, we’ve got a team of rollover experts ready to assist with your rollover. Our agents will guide you through the entire process and assist along the way if you have any questions or concerns.
It’s 100% free for you, and most of the process can be done online in just a few minutes.
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Not sure where your old 401k is? We can help with that.
Don’t lose track of your money. We’ll help you choose a new retirement account, and handle the paperwork, for free.