401k and 403b Plans

The right answer is, It Depends.

I like a ROTH IRA. Here we pay tax on our contributons. Qualified distributions from a ROTH IRA are tax free. The ROTH IRA also allows us to take our Annual Contributions out of the IRA at any time without tax or without penalty for any reason, even to make a trip to Vegas and put it all on red.

A Traditional IRA is OK too. Here we do not pay tax on our annual contributions giving us a tax advantage now. All distributions from a Traditional IRA are subject to income tax, and if taken before age 59.5 years, there is a 10% penalty. There are a few items that qualify for avoiding the 10% penalty.

Everyone can contribute to a Traditional. Not everyone can take the tax deduction. This is called an after tax Traditional IRA. The earnings are tax deferred. When you take a distribution from this IRA part of the distribution is subject to income tax and part of the distribution is tax free. These amounts are based on the ratio of your after tax contributions to the total amount of the IRA.

Both IRAs will provide you with more investment choices when you use a discount broker as the IRA custodian.

IRAs typically are afforded $1,000,000 of bankruptcy protection. This may vary from state to state.

The 401k contribution is taken from our pay each pay day. Some employer's offer a matching contribution. The Traditional 401k is not taxed when we contribute. It is taxed when we take a qualified distribution. Investment choices are usually limited to a set of mutual funds and savings accounts. Some 401k plans offer a loan feature. I do not recommend you ever take a loan from your 401k account.

Some employers offer a ROTH 401k. Your contributions are taxed as you make the contribution. When you take the qualified distribution from the plan your money comes out tax free. When the employer makes a matching contribution to this IRA, it is a tax deferred contribution. You will pay ordinary income taxes on distributions of the employer's contribution.

When you start contributing to a 401k plan, READ the Summary Plan Description. You will be given a copy, read it.

The big advantage of a 401k plan is for 2008 you can contribute up to $15,500. And if you are over age 50, you can contribute an additional $5,000. This "Catch-up" contribution can be made even if your 401k limits you to an amount lower than the $15,500.

Which is better? It Depends.

When you make a contribution to your 401k plan, your employer is required to have that money deposited into your account with the 401k custodian within a few weeks, From the IRS: "if your plan provides for salary reductions from employees' paychecks for contribution to the plan, then these contributions must be timely deposited. The law states that this must be accomplished as soon as it is reasonably possible to do so, but no later than the 15th business day of the month following the payday. If you can reasonably make the deposits in a shorter time frame, you need to make the deposits at that time." Once that is done, most plans ask you to select some investment choices for your money. Sometimes one of the options is Employer Stock. If you invest in your employer's stock, and the employer goes bankrupt then you could loose the amount you have invested in that stock. Depending on what investment options you have available, stock mutual funds, bond funds, money market accounts, the stock mutual fund may also own some employer stock. So if you are invested in that mutual fund, and also have some emplyer stock in your 401k, your risks are increasing. You are dependent on the employer for current income, you have some employer stock in your 401k account, and the stock mutual fund holds some of the employer stock. Add to that if your employer has a retirement plan for you your risks go up dramatically. Keep employer stock in your 401k at a minimum and you will likely do well.

no >>>>> And why would you want to? You already paid taxes on that money.

You may be able to leave your 401k with the employer. Some plans will allow this some will not. Read your 401k Summary Plan to learn what your plan says. The BEST IDEA would be to transfer your 401k savings to your Traditional IRA. Select your IRA custodian, and tell them what you want to do. This IRA custodian will help you with this transfer. Doing a Trustee To Trustee Transfer is best. This would guarantee no tax withholding, no tax and no penalty. Now you have many more investment choices for your retirement savings. Here is one you can do, but it is not recommended. You can take the 401k money for your use. Here 20% will be withheld for income tax and and if applicable, the 10% penalty. But don't think that will pay the tax and penalty on this. The tax and penalty will likely be more than the the amount withheld . It is likely you will also need to pay state income tax on this amount. If have a new employer, some 401k plans will accept money from your former employer's 401k. You may be able to move your old 401k money to your new employer's 401k plan. Most 401k plans will not do this.

can you close out your 401k and still receive unemployment benefits

You can rollover your 401k account into any type of IRA, with the exception of an education IRA. However, you need to be careful and make sure that you do a direct rollover, or else you could be hit with taxes and penalties that are north of 40%.

Make sure that you do your research. A good link is eRollover.com (see attached)

You can`t do anything with it, other than take it to the bank it is made out to and deposit it.

Yes, but the contribution limit includes both, i.e., no more than $15,500 total in 2008 plus $5,000 "catch-up" if age 50 or over.

You should not cash the check since it is not addressed to you. In any case, the reason you are rolling it over is to avoid the tax consequences and penalties for cashing out your 401K. It is shortsighted to spend 401K money (even if it is not very much) since that money grows over time to help with your retirement.

The amount of taxes on 9300 dollars will depend on the number of dependents you claim. There are also deductions that can be taken for numerous different things, which may reduce your tax amount even more.

No, you cannot. You cannot transfer a 401k balance from your current employer to any other plan. Obviously, you can discontinue participation in the 401k and make contributions to a new or existing IRA in your name. But you cannot transfer the balance elsewhere. Unless however you are over the age of 59 1/2, in wich you would have access to the balance in your 401k plan, and would be eligible to roll it over.

Yes. You can roll a previous employer's 401k balance into a new employer's 401k. You can also roll a previous employer's 401k balance into an individual retirement account (IRA) if you wish to maintain control over the investments.

Since you are usually charged a fee for each account, it is best to have all of your IRA funds in one account. I recommend utilizing a self-directed IRA account from a firm such as PENSCO Trust, where you can have all types of investments, even real estate and businesses, in one account. They can set up subaccounts with any broker you may utilize and you only get charged fees once. Watch out for "free" IRA accounts. The sponsor can earn exorbitant fees hidden in the investments they offer or pay you below market rates to earn money from your account.

yes, but there are earned income limits that may prevent you from deducting a Traditional IRA on your taxes if you were covered by a 401(k)

As discussed here - http://www.savingtoinvest.com/2011/07/contributing-to-an-ira-and-roth-ira-if-you-already-have-a-401k.html - you can contribute to both (limits are different) based on income levels and meeting eligiblity rules.

It disapperars!

No, there is no age limit on putting money into a 401k. As long as you are still employed by the employer that sponsors the 401k, you are allowed to continue making tax-free contributions into the 401k.

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from qualified employer plans generally must begin for the year the individual reaches age 70 1/2. However, RMDs can be delayed until the year the individual retires from the employer if he continues to work past age 70 1/2. However, this RMD exception does not apply to particiapants who are more-than 5% owners of the business sponsoring the qualified plan.

[IRC Sec. 401(a)(9)(C) and Reg. Sec. 1.408-8, Q&A-2]

"the limitation under Section 402(g)(1) on the exclusion for elective deferrals described in Section 402(g)(3) remains unchanged at $15,500. This limitation affects elective deferrals to Section 401(k) plans and to the Federal Government's Thrift Savings Plan, among other plans." http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=174873,00.html

Check with your human resources department or the payroll department of your employer.

only if your plan allows in-service withdrawals....ask your HR or payroll dept.

3%

a 401k is an employer plan for the benefit of the employees, and an IRA is an individual plan

to get the money away from the previous employer and to continue tax-deferral

Yes. Whether or not you can deduct the IRA contribution depends on a variety of factors. Whether or not you can contribute to a Roth IRA depends on your income (or that of you and your spouse combined, if you are married). More information: http://beginnersinvest.about.com/cs/iras/a/iracontribution.htm