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    jasoos007's Avatar
    jasoos007 Posts: 7, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Apr 13, 2008, 02:10 PM
    401K Rollover to existing roth ira ?
    I recently left my employer and was wondering if it is possible to rollover a 401K to a existing roth IRA. Is it a good idea.

    Thanks
    Jasoos
    ebaines's Avatar
    ebaines Posts: 12,131, Reputation: 1307
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    #2

    Apr 14, 2008, 11:03 AM
    No! You can not roll your 401(k) into a Roth IRA. Instead, roll your 401(k) into a "rollover IRA," which is a separate account from your Roth or traditional IRA. In general this will be a new IRA account for you. The principal reason is that your 401(k) is funded with pre-tax money, and consequently you will owe income tax on any withdrawals you make. Your Roth IRA is funded with after-tax money, and grows tax-free, so any withdrawals from it are tax free (assuming they qualify as a normal withdrawal). So these two accounts must be separate to keep things straight.
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