Retired and still holding onto 401k because....

[pb4uski]

Third that. I moved everything from Vanguard to Schwab about a year ago because of the slow decay and rot in Vanguard's customer service. At Schwab, I have two people who I can call and the actually answer the phone or if they don't and I leave a voicemail they actually call me back. Ditto with email.

 

[DangerDad]

I’ve been with Vanguard for a long time so I must admit there’s a comfort factor based on familiarity. Regarding service, I haven’t had significant problems—but this could be related to my rare need for service. Almost everything can be done via the app. Having said all that, I’ll take a look at Schwab—I wonder if they have tax-managed funds..?

 

[pb4uski]

I'm sure they do, or I suspect you can even buy any Vanguard tax managed funds that you are comfortable with.

 

[whatnot]

Thank you Marc.
I made an appointment with an advisor.
I just hope they don’t try and make a big push for annuities. That is what the last advisor did. I explained that DH has a pension and SS, and I will have SS also when I decide to start benefits.

 

[NW-Bound]

I'm retired and still holding my 401k because of two main reasons.
1. ERISA protections
2. Stable value fund

My wife rolled out most of her 401k to an IRA, but kept the stable value fund portion, which was 1/3 of her account.

For protection, I have the umbrella insurance, and hope that's adequate.

 

[GoodWishes]

I'm retired and still holding my 401k because of two main reasons.
1. ERISA protections
2. Stable value fund

DH and I both still have our 401k for ERISA also..

 

[GoodWishes]

This thread has me thinking about doing a roll-over IRA at Fidelity (my other money is at Vanguard). I'm past 59.5 so the Rule of 55 is no longer applicable and I've dipped my toes in direct bond purchases instead of bond funds. So rolling to a brokerage roll-over IRA has some attraction.

You made me look for roll-over bonuses at Fido and there seem to be none on offer right now. In the past they had $2,500 for a $million roll-over. I think I'll call them and tell them my situation - 401(k) at Empower, lots of money at VG, a little money at Fido (HSA only). "What can you do for me?"

Has anyone done this recently with Fido?

EDIT - oh, and my maintenance fee at Empower is $6/quarter, which it totally immaterial and totally annoying.

We moved our entire Vanguard account to Fidelity several months ago and got $5k bonus. I think the bonus is paid after some time like 30 or 60 days so we got our bonus in August. We worked with our financial rep and the service was great.

We had our Vanguard account for maybe 30/40 years and never asked for any service. They for some reason wanted more info from us. It was the worst experience and got us so frustrated with them. No more Vanguard.

 

[Koolau]

Don't do that. Seriously. Vanguard's customer service is virtually non-existent and their interface is terrible. They still have some great funds but I would avoid them at any cost.
My favorite is Fidelity but Schwab is OK too.

I've had my issues with Vanguard, but customer service (so far) has not been one of them. Folks (here) whine about 2 hour phone waits. I've not experienced that. I get upset that I have to use their robot for 5 minutes to wait 5 minutes to talk to someone. Folks have suggested no one at Vanguard knows what they're doing. I've not experienced that either.

Right now, it's "hip" here (and elsewhere) to dump on Vanguard (and I've done my share) but keep in mind - choosing your financial house is a big deal. Don't do it on "our" advice!

Not a shill for Vanguard and I heartily endorse anyone putting their money where they feel most comfortable. But, I wouldn't necessarily listen to "folks on the internet" saying to move your "life savings" based on hear-say about a particular investment house.

Use your own experience and do your own research. Yes, listen to folks here, but you are responsible for your own money and will experience any down-sides if you rely on us to make such a decision.


I'm sure each big house has it's advantages and disadvantages. Good luck in choosing wisely.