Have $91K built up and I haven't retired yet. I have to retire in Jan 2011 due to physical impairment [turn 70 in July]. We [married] get $4100./m SS[total] and that is it. We have a house pmt including insurance and taxes of $1385./m 30 yr fixed. House is worth $241K with an existing 132k loan[30 yr fixed at 5.62%]

What is the best thing we should do with the 91K ? Can I take it out without paying tax on it? How do I set the 91 K rollover into a monthly payment added to the 4100/m? Do I still have to pay taxes on this? If so, how much?

Would we be better off setting up a pmt/m or can I take the 91K out in some way and convert it to bullion, probably silver rather than gold. What do you suggest? No other payments other than the house.

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Originally Posted by johncr12

Have $91K built up and I haven't retired yet. I have to retire in Jan 2011 due to physical impairment [turn 70 in July]. We [married] get $4100./m SS[total] and that is it. We have a house pmt including insurance and taxes of $1385./m 30 yr fixed. House is worth $241K with an existing 132k loan[30 yr fixed at 5.62%]

What is the best thing we should do with the 91K ? Can I take it out without paying tax on it?

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Any withdrawals you take are taxble income to you - remember that your 401(k) account is deferred comoensation, which you have not (yet) paid taxes on, so when you take a withdrawal the government wants its cut. An exception is if you roll the money over to another tax-deferred investment, such as an IRA or annuity.

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Originally Posted by johncr12

How do I set the 91 K rollover into a monthly payment added to the 4100/m? Do I still have to pay taxes on this? If so, how much?

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You can use the 401(k) to buy an annuity - I would recommend that you consider only a one-time fixed annnuity, not a variable annuity. In essence you buy a contract from a life insurance company that pays you and your spouse a fixed amount per quarter as long as either one of you are alive. So its like an additional SS payment, but it is fixed (won't go up over time with inflation). Do some shopping around for this - there are lots of options with annuities. Most of which are rigged in favor of the annuity company, so sticjk with the simplest "fixed" annuity type. If you purchase an annuity for $91K, you will probably receive about $6K per year from this type of investment. More info on annuities here: The Fixed Annuity Guide | Understand Annuities | The Fixed Annuities

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Originally Posted by johncr12

Would we be better off setting up a pmt/m or can I take the 91K out in some way and convert it to bullion, probably silver rather than gold. What do you suggest? No other payments other than the house.

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I think you're going to need cash. One problem with annuities is that they don't protect you from inflation. I think its better to either keep the $91K in the 401(k) plan or roll it to an IRA. With an IRA you can find more investment options, including mutual funds that track commodities like gold or silver if that's what you want. But I would not advocate investing the money directly into either gold or silver - it's very tricky doing that with an IRA without running afoul of the rules, which could cause the $91K to suddenly become taxable. If I was you I would invest 50% each in a low cost stock index fund and an intermediate term bond fund and just let it ride. You can withdraw about 4% of its value per year for cash needs with little danger of the money running out, and it can be a nest egg in case of future health care or house expenses. The stock investement should provide a bit of growth, reducing the risk of inflation.

Passport IRA, Sovereign International Pension Services, Guidant Financial Group, Entrust Group, and Goldstar Trust are a few firms that provide options to free your 401k and make it available to hold bullion among other options. I've listed them in random order and only am directly familiar with the reputation of Sovereign International.