Calendar
July 31, 2018

Types Of Retirement Accounts

Diana Hoff
Time
5 min

Do not overlook your retirement and assume your financial planner has your best interests at heart.

You need to be educated and take control of your retirement. We will be going in depth about the differences inherent among common retirement terms.

What types of retirement accounts are there?

Employer Plans

  • If your retirement plan is offered through your company, they may call it a 401(k), 403b, 457, Thrift Savings Plan; there are many other names depending on the type of company you are working for. The employer determines if there is the option to contribute to a Traditional account or Roth (I will cover these differences next week). Employer plans often have a pre-determined set of investments that the employees can invest in. Some employers allow for employees to choose high-risk or low-risk and the company’s financial planner will do what best suits that person’s risk assessment. Most companies do not allow for employees to rollover/direct rollover their retirement plan to invest in alternative options. This leaves the employee trapped with the decisions the employer has available.
  • I’m retired, or I have left the company now what? Once you are no longer employed by the company, they will prompt you to rollover your IRA to another Custodian, distribute, or some plans may allow you to set up a distribution plan upon retirement. If you are interested in using your retirement account for investing, you will choose a rollover or direct rollover option. At this point, you can establish an IRA with Mountain West IRA and begin looking for an investment! The IRS will see a rollover or direct rollover and, if done in a timely manner, this will not be a taxable event. Most employer retirement plans will not withhold taxes if the funds are going directly into another qualified retirement plan. You should speak to your plan administrator for specific details.
  • You can review the complete IRA Starter Kit process here

Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)

  • Individuals who do not have the opportunity to participate in an employer plan should definitely look into IRAs. Even if you can contribute to your employer plan, an IRA may be a better fit for you. You can contribute to a Traditional IRA or in a Roth IRA because you are making the decision. You can also decide if common stocks/mutual funds are the route for you or if alternative assets are a better fit. IRAs are qualified retirement accounts that have contribution limits. However, if you need additional funds for an investment, you can transfer IRAs you currently hold, or rollover funds from your employer plan, to add to the amount you have available to invest.
  • You can look into each type of plan here, or you can watch our webinar on Which IRA is Right for You here.

Are you unsure what type of account you currently have? This information is typically found near your name on the first page of your statement. If you need help, you can submit your statement to accounts@mwira.com, and we can assist you!

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