IRA Rollover

[yAyA]

Hello All,

I'm about to change jobs and would like to rollover my TSP account. I'm just unsure of how I should do that. I went to Fidelity to read up on the topic and I'm still a little confused. Should I open this account before my last day of work or wait until I start my new job? How do I roll it over without it ever coming to me?

Can someone just give me a simple explanation or a good site?

Thanks in advance

[Gumby]

Others can quote you chapter and verse on this, but I will share my limited experience.

After I left my last job, I decided I wanted to roll my 401k to a rollover IRA at Vanguard. So I called Vanguard, they sent me the papers, I filled them out and they took care of the rest, such as issuing a letter of direction to the custodian of my 401k, setting up the new account etc. It was very easy and the money went directly from the 401k to the rollover IRA, so I did not need to worry about the taxes. I didn't do this until after I left my old job. It is, however, a good idea to find out before you leave who at your current employer is the contact person for 401k issues. So my recommendation is to call Vanguard.

[yAyA]

Thanks

[Nords]

Originally Posted by yAyA

I'm about to change jobs and would like to rollover my TSP account. I'm just unsure of how I should do that. I went to Fidelity to read up on the topic and I'm still a little confused. Should I open this account before my last day of work or wait until I start my new job? How do I roll it over without it ever coming to me?

The Thrift Savings Plan has some of the world's lowest expense ratios and the company's not likely to go bankrupt. Are you sure you want to leave it to roll over to anything else?

[jazz4cash]

Look here.............http://www.tsp.gov/features/chapter13.html

and here................
http://personal.fidelity.com/product...tro.shtml.cvsr

[donheff]

Leave it in the TSP. I rolled over a regular IRA (from the stone ages) into my TSP.

[FinanceDude]

There are plenty of us mortals that would LOVE to be in the TSP.............

[yakers]

I rolled an old IRA into the TSP. It was a bit complicated but worth it. I can understand moving part of your money out of the TSP if you want to capture some particular asset class not covered by the general market index funds in the TSP, like REITs or emerging markets. But I would still leave some money in the TSP at least to capture the G Fund which is a great portfolio risk reducer and maybe the only bond fund you need. I use mostly the TSP Lifecycle Funds, keeps things really easy. But I would never move funds out for a regular index fund, even to the sainted Vanguard. There are still some risks to these companies and Fidelity has been known to raise expense ratios when it suits them.

Now if you want to move money out of the TSP the mechanics are laid out in their publications. It can be slow depending on how familiar the company is that you want to move your funds to. The receiving company must certify that they can receive the funds and it does get a bit complicated and will probably take a few weeks.