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10/10/2024
RETIREMENT PLANNING
A new job or retirement creates opportunities for moving your retirement accounts without tax penalty.
With consolidation and having all your retirement assets in one place, it may be easier to manage your accounts and monitor your progress.
Check out these four easy steps to make a rollover happen.
It happens to the best of us: you set up your employer’s retirement plan and then forget about it, or you open several different individual retirement accounts (IRAs). You go about your daily life, while behind the scenes, savings are automatically added to your employer-sponsored retirement plan, and you make contributions to your IRAs. But what happens to those retirement assets when you take a new job or decide to retire?
It might be time to consider moving those assets from your current retirement plans into an IRA with Thrivent Mutual Funds. You certainly should understand all your options, weigh the pros and cons, and make a choice which is right for your goals and circumstances.
While you can move your IRAs anytime you choose, if you experience any of the following life events, a rollover from an employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k), may be an option for you depending on the actions allowed under the plan document:
Distributions from employer retirement plans are subject to a mandatory 20% tax withholding. As taxes are withheld, you must use other funds to roll over the full amount of the distribution. This is important as any portion not rolled over, including amounts withheld, will be considered a distribution and subject to income tax and generally a 10% penalty if under age 59½ unless an exception applies. Learn more about direct and indirect rollover IRAs.
With an indirect rollover, you will have 60 days to deposit the amount into a new IRA, or even back into the original IRA, to avoid incurring a tax on the distribution. Note: you can only make one indirect rollover of assets from an IRA once in any 12-month period, no matter how many IRAs you have.
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It’s important to consider your needs and circumstances when looking to move your retirement assets. Some factors to keep in mind include:
IRA distributions that are used for certain non-retirement purposes, such as a first-time home purchase1 or qualified education expenses, are exempt from the 10% federal penalty tax that typically applies to distributions taken prior to age 59½. And as long as you have earned income, you can continue to make contributions to the IRA.
You can roll over or transfer assets from almost any kind of retirement plan, the most common include2:
You’ve worked so hard for your retirement assets, so before you move them, it’s important to do your homework and decide which is right for you. Here’s a quick comparison of other available options:
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If you’ve decided to initiate a rollover or transfer of your retirement assets, there are several steps you need to take, regardless of the financial institutions involved. At a high-level, these are the steps:
Note: These steps (and even their order) may vary according to the type of rollover/transfer at different financial institutions.
After carefully reviewing your options and considering your needs and circumstances, if you choose to move your retirement assets into an IRA with Thrivent Mutual Funds, you’ll have access to a variety of mutual fund offerings to help you save for retirement. You can build your own portfolio based on your risk tolerance and time horizon or contact an experienced financial professional for help when you need it.
1 No penalty on up to $10,000 of distribution you receive to buy or build a first home. You qualify for a first-time home purchase if you or your spouse has not owned a home in the previous two years.
2 Roth IRAs, Roth 401(k)s and Roth 403(b)s can only be rolled or transferred into a Roth IRA. During the first two years of participation, a SIMPLE IRA can only be rolled or transferred into another SIMPLE IRA.
3 Please discuss your options for appreciated employer stock with your tax advisor.
The information provided is not intended as a source for tax, legal or accounting advice. Please consult with a legal and/or tax professional for specific information regarding your individual situation.