SAHM and 401K?

[kate1482]

I stopped working 3 years ago when my second child was born.  I haven't really thought about my 401K until I received a notice that I need to add a beneficiary to my account.  WWMMD?  Keep it as is?  Move it to where my dh's account is?  Something else?  

[cc111]

I think it depends on how much your current 401k institution charges for fees, how the investment options are and fee wise for those. If they are good/low fee, then I think it's fine to keep it where it is, unless you want to consolidate it to another institution where you already have accounts so you can manage it easier. However, once you move the money out of 401k, I believe you will have to roll it into a traditional IRA. Rolling it into a traditional IRA might offer you more investment options, but it will affect your options to do roth IRA contribution if you do that.

[RockNVoll]

There's good info in this recent thread: pandce.proboards.com/thread/620919/rolling-over-retirement-accounts

Also, you can't roll into your husband's accounts. Retirement accounts are individual, not joint.

[sillygoosegirl]

Aug 25, 2020 12:18:39 GMT -5 cc111 said:

I think it depends on how much your current 401k institution charges for fees, how the investment options are and fee wise for those. If they are good/low fee, then I think it's fine to keep it where it is, unless you want to consolidate it to another institution where you already have accounts so you can manage it easier. However, once you move the money out of 401k, I believe you will have to roll it into a traditional IRA. Rolling it into a traditional IRA might offer you more investment options, but it will affect your options to do roth IRA contribution if you do that.

If you can afford to pay taxes on the balance as if it was income, rolling a 401(k) into a Roth IRA can also be a good option. Even though on paper it's still the same dollar value saved, since it's forever tax free after that, it's effective value is increased proportional to your expected retirement tax bracket. Especially if you intend to return to work in the future, it may be a good time to do that as you may have a lower tax bracket now than you will later on.

[kate1482]

Aug 25, 2020 14:41:20 GMT -5 RockNVoll said:

There's good info in this recent thread: pandce.proboards.com/thread/620919/rolling-over-retirement-accounts

Also, you can't roll into your husband's accounts. Retirement accounts are individual, not joint.

Thank you for the thread! I’ll read through it.

[imojoebunny]

I kept my last job 401K with the company because it was with fidelity and I am happy with the low fees and the fund choices. I moved other previous jobs to IRAs at vanguard. If you decide to move it, either of those companies can walk you through the process. It has to be done in a specific manner. Where your DH has his isn't something I would really care about, unless he really likes his company and they have low fees, as mentioned about, it won't be a joint account.

[numbers]

Do you have an IRA? I would probably roll it into an IRA and max out contributions (I think $6k per year).