401k Rollover ? Ask Karen Chan

Q:

I rolled over my 401K contributions when?I left a company?I worked for a few years ago.??It?s in an IRA account with Chase Bank.? It?s not being invested and?just sitting there for over 3 years now. What can?I do with this money?? Do?I have to invest with Chase? Can I transfer it again, at no cost, to another bank or a brokerage account?? I?m wary of investing and investment institutions. ?I lost half of my 401K three years ago, and I don?t want to lose the rest.

A:

Yes, you can roll over this money to an IRA at a different bank, brokerage, mutual fund, etc. If you are employed and have a retirement plan at your job such as a 401(k) or a 403(b), you could also roll the IRA into that plan.

But you?re also identified the bigger questions: how should the money be invested? And how do you get guidance you believe you can trust? Working with someone trustworthy doesn?t mean you won?t lose money ? it means that they should give you an accurate assessment of the amount of risk you?re taking on and help you choose investments that are appropriate for you. What?s appropriate depends on many things, such as your risk tolerance, how long the money will be invested, and what other sources of income you will have in retirement.

You might have access to some degree of investment advice through your employer retirement plan. Or, you might want to seek out an advisor on your own. Choosing a Financial Professional is a website that I colleague and I developed to help people do just that.??

You may also need to learn more about investing. For a start, I?d suggest stopping at your library and looking at books by John Bogle or Rick Ferri. There?s nothing flashy here, just good, solid information. They are both strong advocates of using index mutual funds.

You have some serious decisions to make. I hope these sources will help.

Source: http://schaumburglibrary.org/ask-karen-chan/2012/03/26/401k-rollover-2/

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