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I agree with Howard. I can be tempting to cash out that 401K, especially when you don't know if/when the next job will be coming. Sounds like you're already taking the right steps by rolling over your 401K. And yes, your new IRA custodian should be able to do the bulk of the paperwork for you. In fact, ask your new IRA custodian if s/he can make a call-in arrangement with your old fund administrator. In other words, you call new custodian and then s/he dials in your old administrator on the line. The three-way call will keep you from going back and forth between the two to confirm details. Call your new fund administrator in advance to make sure this is a possibility.
Final thought--as you are looking to transfer funds make sure you chose an IRA with a low administrative cost, which in turn will boost what you'll make on your investment in the end. To understand how those costs affect your 401K, if you were to leave it where it is, see http://www.filife.com/stories/how-much-does-your-401k-cost-you.
Marsel,
My sympathies on the bad news about losing your job!
To roll over a 401(k) after losing your job, there are a few steps to take:
#1 - Decide where you want to open the IRA into which you'll be placing the rollover.
#2 - Open the new IRA account. Let them know that you intend to fund the account with a 401(k) rollover. They should be able to give you the new account number for the so-far-empty account.
#3 - Contact the 401(k) plan administrator, and request the forms to roll over your 401(k). Depending on the details of the plan, this may be a separate rollover form, or it may just be a standard distribution form and you must specify that it is going to a rollover.
#4 - On the 401(k) distribution/rollover form, have the 401(k) made payable DIRECTLY to the new IRA account custodian with the new IRA account number. This should allow the 401(k) to go directly from the 401(k) to the IRA, and there should be no withholding.
You can also complete a rollover by simply taking a distribution from your 401(k), and re-depositing it into an IRA within 60 days. However, if you receive the 401(k) funds directly, the plan administrator will withhold 20% of the distribution for potential taxes (they don't know if you're doing the rollover for sure!), and you'll have to make up the money out of pocket to complete the rollover and then get the 20% withhold back later when you file your taxes. So the bottom line is that the direct rollover option I detailed above is preferable, since you don't have to face the withholding complications.
I hope that helps a little! Best wishes to you in this difficult environment!
Michael has provided very detailed information, possibly more than you need.
Generally:
1. Your new IRA custodian can do everything for you. File the forms and paperwork with them. They will collect the necessary info from you and do the legwork for you.
2. Though Michael touched upon it, it should be reiterated in big/bold letters, and I'll go one step further - DO NOT TAKE A DISTRIBUTION FROM THE OLD PLAN UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. There is just too much risk of something not going right and do you really want to be on the hook for coming up with 20% from your pocket as the transfer is made? And If you miss that 60 day re-deposit date (for any reason, whether your fault or not), then guess what - you just made a taxable/penalizable withdrawal of your entire 401k! This is all the more reason for #1 - let the new custodian deal with all the dirty work.
If you rollover to any of the large/national firms (think Fidelity, Vanguard, or any of the major brokerage firms), they have departments which do this all day long and it is a simple process.
Great answer, Michael!
Here in another resource from our 401k center.
http://www.filife.com/stories/rolling-over-your-401k-into-an-ira
