How do you move your IRA from one company to another? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Supple Cow · 04-14-2007, 06:50 PM

A few years ago, I had some extra cash to blow from a summer internship stipend and I decided that it was a good time to start an IRA. I asked around and a friend's dad gave me lots of advice, but I eventually started to feel really lost and frustrated while researching the various institutions. When I got to this point, Friend's Dad advised me to just open one anywhere I could because that was better than waiting any longer in analysis paralysis. I took his advice and went ahead, forking my dough over to ING Direct (they do such a great job with my savings account, after all) to seed a Roth IRA.

A few months ago, I also started to invest in stocks through Sharebuilder. Marketing sucker that I am, I started to wonder every month (with my statement emails and all of their advertising) if I didn't also want to open a Roth IRA with them. Now, I had trouble finding out information (fees, etc.) on the actual Sharebuilder website, but I did find this:

http://www.investortrip.com/which-ro...ur-retirement/

The page lists the "Best IRA Banks" and while ING is up there, I see that there are other banks that will take my relatively small amount of money for NO fees. I know that $10 a year is not a lot, but why pay even that if I could pay nothing?

My question: How the heck does this work? Will there be exorbitant fees (or any) involved in transferring the funds and closing the ING account?

Also, I just learned in another thread that you are even allowed to have more than one IRA account open at once. Is this limited to one Roth and one traditional? Or is it limited at all? (Aside from the maximum annual contribution.) I also hear the term "roll over" a lot, and I'm not sure if that just means any sort of retirement fund transfer or if it has a more specific meaning. Would switching my current Roth IRA from ING to another bank entirely constitute rolling it over?

I may sound idiotic (especially with that last question), but I can't seem to find any information on the internet that is straight forward enough for my teeny little brain to digest. Somebody please set me straight!

eribrav · 04-15-2007, 03:45 AM

You can transfer your IRA money anywhere you want. Just call or contact the company you want to transfer to and get the paperwork. There should not be fees from Sharebuilder but you should go over the "fine print" just to be sure.
The key point is that YOU don't get the money from the account. Do that and you will have a lot of tax complications. You need to transfer from one account to another.
You can have more than one account open at a time. I have an open Roth which I am not, for other reasons, contributing to right now, and a standard IRA as well. If you are eligible to be making Roth account contributions that's probably the one you should be using.

Supple Cow · 04-15-2007, 12:53 PM

Ah, thanks. Good tip.

Are you also allowed to have two Roth IRAs open at once (instead of one Roth and one Traditional)? For instance, what if I want to put my next few contributions into a new bank before having them complete the transfer and closing the account with the old bank? Can I just open a new one and then ask the new bank to initiate the transfer at some later date?

04-14-2007, 06:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
Supple Cow Americow, the Beautiful Location: Washington, D.C.	How do you move your IRA from one company to another? A few years ago, I had some extra cash to blow from a summer internship stipend and I decided that it was a good time to start an IRA. I asked around and a friend's dad gave me lots of advice, but I eventually started to feel really lost and frustrated while researching the various institutions. When I got to this point, Friend's Dad advised me to just open one anywhere I could because that was better than waiting any longer in analysis paralysis. I took his advice and went ahead, forking my dough over to ING Direct (they do such a great job with my savings account, after all) to seed a Roth IRA. A few months ago, I also started to invest in stocks through Sharebuilder. Marketing sucker that I am, I started to wonder every month (with my statement emails and all of their advertising) if I didn't also want to open a Roth IRA with them. Now, I had trouble finding out information (fees, etc.) on the actual Sharebuilder website, but I did find this: http://www.investortrip.com/which-ro...ur-retirement/ The page lists the "Best IRA Banks" and while ING is up there, I see that there are other banks that will take my relatively small amount of money for NO fees. I know that $10 a year is not a lot, but why pay even that if I could pay nothing? My question: How the heck does this work? Will there be exorbitant fees (or any) involved in transferring the funds and closing the ING account? Also, I just learned in another thread that you are even allowed to have more than one IRA account open at once. Is this limited to one Roth and one traditional? Or is it limited at all? (Aside from the maximum annual contribution.) I also hear the term "roll over" a lot, and I'm not sure if that just means any sort of retirement fund transfer or if it has a more specific meaning. Would switching my current Roth IRA from ING to another bank entirely constitute rolling it over? I may sound idiotic (especially with that last question), but I can't seem to find any information on the internet that is straight forward enough for my teeny little brain to digest. Somebody please set me straight!

04-15-2007, 03:45 AM	#2 (permalink)
eribrav Junkie Location: upstate NY	You can transfer your IRA money anywhere you want. Just call or contact the company you want to transfer to and get the paperwork. There should not be fees from Sharebuilder but you should go over the "fine print" just to be sure. The key point is that YOU don't get the money from the account. Do that and you will have a lot of tax complications. You need to transfer from one account to another. You can have more than one account open at a time. I have an open Roth which I am not, for other reasons, contributing to right now, and a standard IRA as well. If you are eligible to be making Roth account contributions that's probably the one you should be using.

04-15-2007, 12:53 PM	#3 (permalink)
Supple Cow Americow, the Beautiful Location: Washington, D.C.	Ah, thanks. Good tip. Are you also allowed to have two Roth IRAs open at once (instead of one Roth and one Traditional)? For instance, what if I want to put my next few contributions into a new bank before having them complete the transfer and closing the account with the old bank? Can I just open a new one and then ask the new bank to initiate the transfer at some later date?