More choices Six or eight choices aren't much compared with the thousands upon thousands of individual stocks, bonds and mutual funds available to investors with ordinary, taxable accounts - or with IRAs. This is especially so if the employer matches contributions with company stock rather than cash you could direct to any of the investment options. If the new employer permits this, a direct transfer can be done without tax or penalty. But the IRA rollover option may be preferable, because it gives you access to any kind of stock, bond or fund. And in an IRA, you can make changes any time you want, and as often as you want.
Rollovers are easy.