My New Job Doesn't Offer a Retirement Plan

Is there a way for you to roll over your savings into a bank IRA account?

Marge from NY

Well you could start your own IRA which you should do anyway. There are many avenues open to you on the subject. One would be to call a no load mutual fund such as Vanguard and open an Roth IRA account.Vanguard or other mutual funds can explain the process to you. I think investing in stocks will give you a better return than bank IRAs.

You're 17 years old, right? Or is it 57? makes a big difference. Make sure you're getting your Social Security Statement twice a year. If not, call them and say so. It will say how much per month you will receive from them, so start with that.

Where I work, vested balances over $5,000 can remain in the plan until the employee moves it. I'm not sure if this is a plan regulation or one that covers all plans across the country. The Benefits Manager at your old job should be able to tell you.

I have IRA's in the form of mutual funds. I have this with my credit union. By law, you cannot lose your old retirement. I'd look into it though. Social Security is NOT a form of retirement. Its just an addition to the monies you've set aside for yourself during your later years. Before SSA, families took care of their older members.

If you are going to roll your funds into an IRA, I don't think you can us a ROTH without incurring taxes. If you are not able to keep the funds in the 401(k) account and you are going to roll it into an IRA, make sure that you use the correct forms from the investment company of your choice. If the funds are paid to you instead of the new IRA, you will incur taxes.

Since your new job does not have a retirement plan, I would suggest that you open a ROTH IRA and fund it to the maximum each year.

It is not necessary to mingle the accounts, the old 401(k) can be rolled into a Traditional IRA and your current retirement savings could be placed in a ROTH IRA.

I rolled mine over into an IRA. There was no penalty. Pentagon Federal has fabulous rates (6% interest) in Jan and Feb so maybe wait till then to move it over. You can join Pentagon Federal Credit Union. There is an organization you can join for $25 and you then can open an account. There is info on the Pentagon Federal Web site. You do not have to renew the organization fee after the initial year. You can open new IRAs every year.