Leaving a Company

This is what HR departments are for. The new company will have its own retirement plan. You'll do a rollover working with the companies who operate the 401ks (Fidelity, ING, etc.). Yes, you'll give HR your new address just like you would for all other regular correspondence.

Roll your 401k into an IRA, not the new company's 401k. If you roll into the new 401k you'll be limited to the investments offered by that plan. In an IRA you'll have way more options. And yes, leave a forwarding address with the current company's HR department as well as forward all of your mail via the USPS.

Also, check the new company's health insurance to make sure you're covered from day one. If there is a 30/60/90 day lag, make sure you either opt for COBRA or get a temp policy to cover you.

A rollover to the same type of account is not taxed. I don't have an answer for the IRA question. Like some have said, you'll have more options with it if you can.

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Make sure you do a traditional (not Roth) IRA and the rollover won't be taxed as income.

It's pretty straight forward. Just make sure to take down contact info for your 401k plan administrator, set up your IRA with someone like Vanguard and contact the 401k administrator to move your money after you peace out.

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Thanks! I already have an IRA, but it's a Roth IRA. Would it make sense to start a traditional IRA with this fund or declare it, tax it, and put it into the Roth IRA?

I'm 26 FWIW.

Hmmmm....that's a tough call. Since the 401k is a nice chunk of money you might not want to take that tax hit this year. You might have to write a pretty big check next April.

I'm not sure if want to have 3 separate retirement accounts to keep up with so Id probably just roll it into the 401k, but like others have said, this will limit what you can do with the money.

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Open a traditional IRA at a Merrill, Lynch-ish brokerage house. The right one will be thrilled to see you at 26. Ask around, it doesn't have to be local. You have to have the funds from your present 401k go directly from the present fund's administrator to the new IRA or the IRS deems it as taxable income for 2014, and you do not want that to happen.

Consult a tax or investment professional, glad to hear you are on the right track as to solvency. Ditto on the giving two weeks' notice, not burning any bridges advice. And good luck at your new employ.

Thanks all!

I hate managing multiple different brokers and websites so I might just open another account with Vanguard as this is where all my investments and my Roth IRA are, but I like everyone's thoughts on having both a traditional AND a Roth IRA.

Also, I'm definitely not going to burn any bridges here. I've actually already talked to my boss about it and he's asked me to stay on board for the next month and a half to try and make the transition as smooth as possible. I'm not leaving because I dislike the company. I like it quite a bit, but my parents are too far away and they're getting old. I'm definitely keeping things as cordial as possible in case I need to come back later!

Thanks again!

I always recommend keeping it cordial if you can when you leave.

I did and was promptly re-hired after my year long sabbatical of sorts.