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acmerchant · Jan 7, 2009, 11:59 AM

I worked at a company from the year 2000 until 2004. While I was there I contributed to a 401k plan via payroll deduction. When I left the employer in 2004 I didn't take any of the 401k money(I was young and dumb!) Do I still have access to this money? If so, can I roll it over into an IRA? Any advice would be great! Antoinette

Fr_Chuck · Jan 7, 2009, 12:10 PM

Yes it is your money, you should have been getting a annual report on the funds. Contact the company that is handleing the funds.

ebaines · Jan 7, 2009, 12:38 PM

You have several choices:

1. Do nothing - leave the money in its current account. You should be receiving regular statements from the 401(k) administrator - probably quarterly. If you like the investment choices, no problem just letting the account do its thing. But if you ever move, be sure to let the plan administrator know your new address.

2. Roll the 401(k) to your own roll-over IRA account. You can start a rollover IRA at any number of investmet houses - all the major on-line houses such as Vanguard, Fidelity, T Rowe Price, Schwab etc make it very easy - you just fill out a couple of forms, send them a copy of your latest 401(k) statement, and they will take care of the rest. It is advisable that you do a direct rolloer (direct from the currnt plan adinistartor to the new IRA) to avoid any possible negative tax consequences. The advantages of rolling to an IRA are that you typically can find a broader range of investment choices. Another advantage of IRAs is that they have more loopholes for avoiding the 10% early withdrawal penalty - for example if you need the money for a first time home purchase or tuition for higher education you can make a withdrawal from an IRA without penalty, whereas the same withdrawal from a 401(k) would result in a penalty (in both cases you woul pay income tax, of course).

3. If your current employer offers a 401(k), you may be able to roll your old 401(k) to your new employer's plan. The advantage of this is reduced paperwork - one statement instead of two. But only do this if you really like the investment choices offered by your new plan.