Key Takeaway. Rolling over your 401(k) money into an IRA can be a good way to defer taxes until you retire and begin to take distributions. But if your account includes publicly traded stock in the company you work for, you can save money by withdrawing it from your 401(k) and putting it in a taxable brokerage account.
Roll over your 401(k) to a Roth IRA
If you're transitioning to a new job or heading into retirement, rolling over your 401(k) to a Roth IRA can help you continue to save for retirement while letting any earnings grow tax-free. You can roll Roth 401(k) contributions and earnings directly into a Roth IRA tax-free.
You could move a large percentage of your 401K into the money market portion of the fund or stable value fund area. If you are losing sleep, place 90% or more in a stable value fund. Your expense ratio may increase, but the chances of a recession taking a ``significant'' percentage of your 401K will be reduced.
Protecting Your 401(k) From a Stock Market Crash
Any time you put your money in the stock market or other investments, you always run the risk of losses. While you can make largely educated decisions, things don't always go to plan.
It's better to own broadly diversified mutual funds or index funds that track a broad basket of stocks, such as the S&P 500. The fixed-income portion of your portfolio, which consists of bonds, money markets, CDs, and other cash equivalents, will act as a downside buffer against a steep stock market decline.
Deferring Social Security payments, rolling over old 401(k)s, setting up IRAs to avoid the mandatory 20% federal income tax, and keeping your capital gains taxes low are among the best strategies for reducing taxes on your 401(k) withdrawal.
If you have a Roth 401(k), you cannot contribute more than what you earn at the company that holds your plan. With most retirement accounts, you can't access the money you contribute or any investment earnings before retirement age without incurring a 10% early withdrawal penalty, plus any applicable income taxes.
By age 50, you should have six times your salary in an account. By age 60, you should have eight times your salary working for you. By age 67, your total savings total goal is 10 times the amount of your current annual salary. So, for example, if you're earning $75,000 per year, you should have $750,000 saved.
As a general rule, if you withdraw funds before age 59 ½, you'll trigger an IRS tax penalty of 10%. The good news is that there's a way to take your distributions a few years early without incurring this penalty. This is known as the rule of 55.
The cons: You'll need to liquidate your current 401(k) investments and reinvest them in your new 401(k) plan's investment offerings, which will take time and some research. The money will be subject to your new plan's withdrawal rules, so you may not be able to withdraw it until you leave your new employer.
In a nutshell: For anyone looking at the long term, you should hold as much of your 401(k), your IRA and other accounts in the stock market as you can bear. That's because stocks always produce by far the best returns, assuming you hold them for long enough.
Taxes will be withheld. Then, you'll need to deposit the full amount withdrawn, before taxes, into a new 401(k) or IRA retirement savings account within 60 days to avoid taxes and early withdrawal penalties (if you're not yet at retirement age).
The simple version says the Roth account needs to have been funded for five years before you withdraw any earnings—even after you've reached age 59½—or you could owe taxes. In addition, nonqualified withdrawals before that age could also trigger a 10% penalty.
If you expect to be in a lower tax bracket during retirement, the traditional 401(k) may suit you. If you expect to be in a higher tax bracket during retirement, the Roth 401(k) may suit you. If you don't know what to expect, or can't decide, consider splitting your savings between the two types of accounts.
Income limits for Roth IRAs
For 2024, the modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) phaseout ranges for Roth IRA direct contributions are: $146,000 to $161,000 for individuals filing as single or head of household. $230,000 to $240,000 for married couples filing jointly.
The easiest way to borrow from your 401(k) without owing any taxes is to roll over the funds into a new retirement account. You may do this when, for instance, you leave a job and are moving funds from your former employer's 401(k) plan into one sponsored by your new employer.
You can also convert traditional 401(k) balances to a Roth IRA. Generally, you'll only be able to transfer a 401(k) to a Roth IRA if you are rolling over your 401(k), the plan allows in-service withdrawals, or the plan allows in-plan conversions.
It's possible to roll 401(k) money into a CD without paying tax penalties but there are some guidelines for doing so. First, you'll need to make sure you're using the right type of CD. Specifically, that means an IRA CD. An IRA CD is a CD account that's funded through an IRA and enjoys its tax benefits.
Your investment is put into various asset options, including stocks. The value of those stocks is directly tied to the stock market's performance. This means that when the stock market is up, so is your investment, and vice versa. The odds are the value of your retirement savings may decline if the market crashes.
The reality is that stocks do have market risk, but even those of you close to retirement or retired should stay invested in stocks to some degree in order to benefit from the upside over time. If you're 65, you could have two decades or more of living ahead of you and you'll want that potential boost.
In a recession, it's smart to preserve your capital by investing in safer assets, such as bonds, particularly government bonds, which can perform well during economic downturns.