When you leave your job, whether it’s to move onto a new job with a different employer, retire, or just call it quits, what will you do with your retirement plan? I recently resigned and consider myself early retired. I worked 15 years for my last employer and I contributed to my retirement plan to the max limits so there was a sizable balance.  

I considered all the options I have and here they are. I could either 

• Leave the retirement plan alone 
• Pull all the money out 
• Rollover some or all to an IRA 
• If I were going to a new employer who had a retirement plan benefit, I would have the option to rollover the money there. Since I don’t this was not an option for me.  

I’ll let you know what I chose so you don’t have to wait till the end. I ended up doing the third option which was to rollover all to my IRA I have with my broker. I chose this option because I wanted to have more control over where my investments go. I want to invest in particular stocks, ETFs, and other investments.  

I did not want to leave everything in my employer’s retirement plan because I wanted more control as I just mentioned. I had access to certain funds but nothing like having full control as if it would be in an IRA.  

Pulling out the money aka withdrawing it was the least ideal option. Since I am not 59 ½ age any money I withdraw from my retirement account I would be hit with a 10% penalty. This is in addition to the taxes I would have to pay. It’s like a double whammy unless I absolutely needed the money. 

That left me with the option of the rollover. It was very easy. I gave my employer’s retirement plan broker my IRA account information and requested a 100% rollover. In about a week, the funds were transferred. Timing worked out well because the market dropped significantly and if I had kept it in my employer’s retirement plan it would have dropped.  

As they say, buy low sell high. With stock prices dropping I can take advantage of this dip and invest in equities with the money that was rolled over. I can’t predict whether the dip will go lower so I have to determine whether to take on that risk. These are the options you have when you have to answer what will you do with your retirement plan. One thing is to not forget about it. I’ve heard stories where people will switch companies and not remember to do something with their retirement plan. Don’t let that be you! If you are interested in following my journey, email subscribe here to get alerts of latest posts or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.