IRA transfer

[bobbee25]

I want to transfer an IRA from one Bank to another.
Can I have the check made out to me, then sign it over to the receiving bank.

 

[Happyras]

Yes, one way to do it. You have 60 days to do so, but it evokes a filing. A direct roll over can be done by having the bank issue the check to you for the benefit of your new IRA. The receiving bank can give you instructions.

 

[kaneohe]

I want to transfer an IRA from one Bank to another.
Can I have the check made out to me, then sign it over to the receiving bank.

yes, but.................not the best of practices (indirect rollover). You can only do this once every 365 days and you don't want to violate this.

Better to have the receiving bank request the transfer.

 

[Car-Guy]

It's usually best to have the receiving bank "pull" or request the transfer from the sending bank... a.k.a.Trustee to trustee transfer. No IRS paper work/reporting needed with a trustee to trustee transfer.

I've done it many times... In my experaince, the receiving bank is usually pretty quick to initiate the transfer request, the sending bank may not be so quick to send the money... I've seen it completed in less than a week in some cases and several weeks in other cases... Also, some banks make the transfer electronically (quicker) and others actually send a paper check in the US Mail (much slower). I once had a check that was lost in the mail and the sending bank would not reissue a new check for 10 business days after they sent the first check..... That's a long time (IMO) to have your money just floating around "somewhere".

If they send a paper check, they "should" make the check out FBO. (For Benefit Of, Your Name/account)

 

[pb4uski]

I want to transfer an IRA from one Bank to another.
Can I have the check made out to me, then sign it over to the receiving bank.

Yes. Double check with your new bank, but I would have the old bank issue a check made out to "[New bank] FBO [your name]". FBO stands for for the benefit of... then take to the new bank and deposit it to your new IRA.

You'll get a 1099-R for the distribution amount but when you do your tax return you'll indicate that it was rolled over so it will not be a taxable event.

Important: this assumes that you have not had any IRA transfers like this in the last 12 months.

 

[OldShooter]

I doubt that many of us here would have a bank as first choice in selecting an IRA custodian. Can you say what bank you are planning to use?

 

[Koolau]

I doubt that many of us here would have a bank as first choice in selecting an IRA custodian. Can you say what bank you are planning to use?

Wow, I can remember, back in the day, banks COULD be a good parking spot for IRAs (well, at least I thought so.) I funneled two or three tIRAs though banks with 2 - 3 year time lines, then on to something better.

Now, no way though YMMV.

 

[pb4uski]

Yes way!

Ironically, I never owned a CD in my life until Dec 2013... and even then it was only a single 3% PenFed CD that matured in 2018.

But in 2019 I gourged out on 3.0-3.5% credit union CDs and now almost half of our retirement stash is in credit union CDs... but luckily the tIRA CDs are yielding 3.3%, so I'm a happy camper.

If 10 years ago you had told me that half of our nestegg would be in CDs, I would have said that you were crazy.

 

[jebmke]

I doubt that many of us here would have a bank as first choice in selecting an IRA custodian. Can you say what bank you are planning to use?

for small IRA amounts to be invested in fixed income, CDs (non brokered) can be the best deal available right now.

 

[OldShooter]

for small IRA amounts to be invested in fixed income, CDs (non brokered) can be the best deal available right now.

Agreed. I was thinking about the more general case where an individual's whole AA might be held in a bank investment account. IMO that can be quite fraught.

 

[OAG]

Two pieces of paper to the "new CU": one to establish the accounts (both TIRA and RIRA's), second one to establish beneficiaries for the new accounts. Actually, did this almost 3 months in advance. Accounts are established at new CU with "$0" in them awaiting transfers to coincide with maturity of the underlying CD's at the "old" account CU.

Pretty simple and appears to be the safest method. My brain would not be very capable of having $250K in checks floating around for very long.