That was YOUR experience. Hasn’t been mine. Or others as noted above.
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@saillakeerie this is so true, over the last 40-50 years of car owning, we have had a few expensive and inconvenient Toyota issues and yet never had a VW issue, contrary to any reports by brand.
I have a Vanguard account and have almost never called them about anything so they seem fine to me.
Oftentimes, low cost firms pay less so there could be some inconsistency in service, especially related to trusts, death claims, etc. This isn’t related specifically to Vanguard but certain firms just pay their people more - not sure if Vanguard does.
Well, lots of other people in many financial forums have complained about Vanguard, I’m not the only one. I feel at least I’ve warned people about it. Why do you get so defensive?
You can put on a blinder and ignore my comment if that makes you feel better.
A lot of people get COVID, I never did, is that mean we don’t have COVID problem anymore?
At least with Fidelity they do have local offices in our area so I can at least go there in person, or my kids can go there in person to deal with things.
Yep. just pointing it out in case they do it that way.
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I know you can move 401K to 401K. What the thread said was rolling over from one 401K plan at one employer to another 401K plan at another EMPLOYER.
Someone upthread said they were able to do it at a firm. I’ve never seen it available to us and I read the fine print. But it’s cool if it’s a thing at many companies.
And I’m not sure I’d want to do it since many 401K employer funds ( though certainly not all) have limited funds one can invest in. While the privately held ones outside of an employer you can invest in everything you want.
What we usually do is keep the 401K at current employer. When we leave, we take the funds and roll into our large 401K fund ( which encompasses many years of saving and a lot of companies we have worked with).
If someone has good reasons to roll into their current 401K employer plan, I’d love to know what they are. Maybe there are benefits we haven’t thought of. One firm we both worked for, a big tech company had excellent results so I can see that. Or, if someone is starting out they would have a smaller nest egg and might want it together for convenience. Anyone have other reasons?
Have you seen it just at one company you worked for? I’m honestly very curious. Seems like it should be a thing.
We ended up consolidating after about 25 years of retirement savings. Had to collect all of the accounts and roll them together. Took a while. Would have been easier to take the entire portfolio from place to place.
I was about to give my convoluted reason as to why.
So we started doing non-tax-deductible (“after tax”) IRA, and had it in the same rollover IRA as 401(k) funds. Turns out this isn’t a good idea if one wants to convert non-deductible IRA to Roth IRA (backdoor). So luckily in one account, we had not commingled the non-deductible IRA with the rolled over 401(k) monies (same account but invested in different things), so then we transferred the 401k(k) portion of the IRA account into a new 401(k) plan. This is essential to make the non-deductible IRA conversion tax-free. Make sense?
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I worked at several small biotechs, and every 401(k) plan (pre-tax) I had allowed rollover of prior 401(k) into their 401(k). I did not always do this because in some cases new plans had worse Investment options.
Hmm. I have to think about that. It does seem to have worked out for you. We’ve never had after tax IRA’s, that I can recall. Some years when self employed the numbers one could save were pretty large. I think they were pre-tax but honestly don’t recall.
Well, I have to look into Roth back door stuff. We’ve never been able to do a Roth (income limits were always too low).
But I’m starting to think if we spin down into retirement early maybe we can make our income go below the range to do a Roth and then do a Roth over the course of a couple of years. Pull money from the 401K out and put it in the Roth for the future. The taxes are going to be insane otherwise. Our FA keeps saying to put more money in non-401K vehicles to be able to balance things out in retirement and not have to rely on a single vehicle.
Honestly, I find some of the long tax term planning very difficult. The retirement piece I think is easier.
It’s up to the second employer, whether it would allow rollovers into its plan. Some employers do.
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Great info. Thanks.
Yes I did, I think it depends on each company and how they set up.
In fact I moved my traditional IRA and rollover IRA to my last 401k. I had to do it to avoid having an existing IRA for Roth.
I had this problem too and my last company allowed me to do the transfer as well. I think not all company you can do that.
Any suggestions on where to find fiduciary fee-only advisors that don’t actively manage your funds and charge a percentage? Is there a group or organization that focuses on this type of advisor? So far, I can only find those that charge a percentage. If you recommend someone who does this, please PM. Location doesn’t matter since most meetings can be done remotely now.
I’m interested in finding someone who works on an hourly basis or for a yearly flat fee, that considers your entire picture – not just funds under their management. We’ve been through 2 advisors in the last 15 or so years, and each time they start great, but eventually tend to put us in a “holding pattern”, yet continue to charge a percentage for little additional effort. Frankly, the cost-benefit no longer works in our opinion, when we evaluate the yearly expense, and what we are receiving for that cost.
Ideally I would like an individual who is part of a team (rather than a sole advisor), who reviews your plan perhaps yearly, suggests funds for each type of account (IRA vs Taxable vs 401K vs Roth) and advises on the bigger financial picture as needed (Some examples: How much, if any long-term-care insurance is advised; Can we still meet our goals if we purchase or rent a vacation home; How much insurance is too little/too much, etc.).
A quarterly re-balance is likely all that is necessary, unless there’s a significant financial event. I really don’t care if funds are at Schwab, Vanguard or Fidelity. What we need, however, is a road map, with occasional detour advice – like a travel agent for financial issues. We COULD do it ourselves, but neither have the interest to research or monitor, especially regarding particular funds.
Per Vanguard, I have to say that when I was executor for my mother’s estate it was quite easy to get the account transferred to my sister.
Now credit here mostly goes to Mom, who had properly set up the TOD (Transfer on Death) beneficiary assignment. All that we needed to do was talk to the Vanguard rep and then mail a death certificate… and then my sister did the rest of the steps online.
This article from Barron’s is spot on, there were times I couldn’t log in even. My personal experience, I think not.
So those on SS may see some increase payments to deal with these prices and consumer price index numbers:
Let’s move off of the Vanguard topic please.
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The biggest advantage of 401k plans vs IRAs is the Rule of 55. Most people think you can only withdraw money from qualified plans without penalty beginning at 59 1/2. Rule of 55 may be more flexible than using Substantially Equal Periodic Payments with IRAs under 72(t).
Another potential advantage of 401k plans is the possibility of capital gains treatment on appreciated stock inside the 401k using NUA (Net unrealized appreciation) strategy. Basis on the stock would be taxed at ordinary income but appreciation could be taxed at capital gains. You lose the NUA favorable capital gains tax treatment by rolling the stock within the 401k to an IRA. Talk to a financial professional if you’re interested in this strategy. You can screw it up.
The biggest drawback of most 401k plans vs IRAs is the fees in 401k plans are typically higher and you dont have as many investment choices.
One other difference is that 401k plans are covered under ERISA and IRAs are not.
DISCLAIMER: Please consult with your own financial consultant and tax preparer to verify all information. This is not tax or financial advice. I am not recommending any tax or financial strategies.
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