Should I Rollover My Retirement Account(s) To An IRA?

This is the third in a four part series designed to help you determine the best way to proceed with your previous employer’s company retirement plans, including 401(k)s, 403(b)s and more. Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Now that you understand at the pros and cons of leaving your 401(k), 403(b), or other employer sponsored retirement plan with a previous employer let’s take a look at another option, rolling over your retirement account(s) from your previous employer into an IRA.

The advantages of converting your retirement account(s) to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) include:

  1. Opening your IRA with a discount brokerage to receive much lower transaction costs.
  2. More visibility of your current investments and more detailed record keeping.
  3. The ability to invest in thousands of different securities instead of just selecting from a pre-selected list of 5-15 options. This allows you to create a specific portfolio designed to fit your unique needs, not just be lumped together with 100’s to millions of other investors.
  4. In most cases much lower administration costs. In a self-directed IRA you may be able to greatly reduce your expenses by removing the extra administration fees present in your previous retirement account. Read the rest of this entry »