vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
You can roll the money into a separate IRA - and contribute an additional $5,500 (or $6,500 if you are 50+ years of age). So this is cool because it gives you a chance to save even more for retirement. Many IRA companies give you a ""sign on bonus"" where if you rollover your former-employers 401(k)...they will give you a bonus (typically a few hundred bucks - but hey its free money!). Other things to note: Take a look at your plan document from your former-employer's 401(k) plan. Take a look at the fees. Compare the fees to your current-employer's plan. There could be a chance that the fees from your former-employer's plan are much higher than your current-employer. So this would just be yet another reason to move the money to your current-employer's plan. Don't forget you most likely have a financial advisor that oversees your current-employer's 401(k) plan. This financial advisor also probably takes fees from your account. So use his services! You are probably already paying for it! Talk to your HR at your employer and ask who the investment advisor is. Call the advisor and set up an appointment to talk about your retirement and financial goals. Ask him for his advice - its always nice talking to someone with experience face to face. Good luck with everything!"
"You cannot dump $450K of cash into any type of retirement account. Retirement accounts have maximum annual contribution limits and earned income requirements.  If the $450K is already in a retirement account you may be able to ""rollover"" these funds into a different type of account. I personally invest in dividend paying stocks and recommend the strategy for just about everyone. $450K earning 4% in dividends would generate ~$18K in annual dividends the first year and, compounded, would generate ~$220K in dividends over a 10-year period. All this being said, I am not a registered professional of any kind and you should consult a professional before making any decisions. And yes, I know this question is from 2012 :)"
You can't sell options if you don't have margin account (except covered call).  You can't trade futures if you don't have margin account.  Everything is immediate when you have margin account. (Including stocks) Margin account is not subject to freeriding rules, but is subject to Pattern Day Trader rules.
Yes you can rollover as many different 401ks into a single IRA account.  I have done it personally and it really cuts down on the overhead of keeping up with lots of different accounts.  Your brokerage or mutual fund company should be able to help you with it.  If you are using a company that just gives you forms and those forms don't mention an easy way to combine.  Then I suggest rolling over one 401k first then once that's finished you can rollover the other 401k into that same account.
You can do a direct transfer from one fund to another within Fidelity very easily. You will have to see if the two funds have any sales or redemption fees. If you want to leave Fidelity, they should be able to transfer the funds directly to the other IRA custodian. You don't want the money to go to you, instead you want to send them send the money directly to the other firm. The new custodian will be more than happy to help facilitate the transfer. The only fee for doing so should be if the funds you are investing in have fees for buying or selling shares. There are many options that don't have these transaction costs, both with Fidelity and with other companies.
Yes, as long as you write a call against your stock with a strike price greater than or equal to the previous day's closing price, with 30 or more days till experation there will be no effect on the holding period of your stock. Like you mentioned, unqualified covered calls suspend the holding period of your stock.  For example you sell a deep in the money call (sometimes called the last write) on a stock you have held for 5 years, the covered call is classified as unqualified, the holding period is suspened and the gain or loss on the stock will be treated as short-term. Selling out of the money calls or trading in an IRA account keeps things simple. The details below have been summarized from an article I found at investorsguide.com.  The article also talks about the implications of rolling a call forward and tax situations where it may be advantageous to write unqualified covered calls (basically when you have a large deferred long term loss). http://www.investorguide.com/article/12618/qualified-covered-calls-special-rules-wo/ Two criterion must be met for a covered call to be considered a qualified covered call (QCC). 1) days to expiration must be greater than 30 2) strike price must be greater than or equal to the first available in the money strike price below the previous day's closing price for a particular stock.  Additionally, if the previous day's closing price is $25 or less, the strike price of the call being sold must be greater than 85% of yesterday's closing price. 2a) If the previous day's closing price is greater than 60.01 and less than or equal to $150, days to experation is between 60-90, as long as the strike price of the call is greater than 85% of the previous days close and less than 10 points in the money, you can write a covered call two strikes in the money 2c) If the previous day's closing price is greater than $150 and days till expiration is greater than 90, you can write a covered call two strikes in the money.
You can do this with no problem. What you want is a direct transfer style of rollover. This is simply where the money is transferred from your 401(k) custodian directly to your new IRA custodian. This will ensure there are no taxes or penalties on the balance.  The key is that the money is moving directly to the new account without you having direct access to the balance. This keeps the money out of your hands in the eyes of the IRS. The process should look something like this: A few notes:
Yes, via a margin account, one can trade or transfer on unsettled funds. These are tight regulations that begin with the Federal Reserve, extend to FINRA, and downward. In a cash account, this is not possible. Since speed is a necessity, a margin account can actually be approved nearly instantly.
No one knows if the market is high right now.  To know that you would need to compare it to the future, not the past. If you put all your money in right now, you run the risk of putting it in at what turns out to be a bad time.  If you spread it out, you will for sure put some of it in at a bad time (either the stuff you put in now, or the stuff you put in later).  The strategy that, on average, will make you the most money is to put everything in now.  If your risk tolerance allows that (it sounds like it does) then I think going all in makes sense. There really aren't significant downsides to buying a ton at once.  You aren't going to move the needle on a big Vanguard fund with that amount and there isn't a tax consequence or anything to buying.  Of course, when you sell, you will need to pay capital gains tax on any gains, but that's a later chapter. The bigger consideration is to be smart right now about avoiding taxes.  If your income is low, max out your Roth IRAs.  If you need to you can later use that money for a house or you can pull the contribution part out at any time if you want without a penalty. Is a $50K buffer too much?  Normally I would say yes, it's excessive.  I have 5 rather expensive kids and I keep $20K in cash, which seems high, if anything.  However, if you are unemployed or your income isn't covering your expenses, then keeping a larger pot in cash makes good sense until your cash flow firms up.  Setting $50K or something close to that aside sounds a lot like something I would do in your shoes. BTW where are you finding a savings account that pays 2%?
Don’t take the cash deposit whatever you do. This is a retirement savings vehicle after all and you want to keep this money designated as such.   You have 3 options:  1) Rollover the old 401k to the new 401k. Once Your new plan is setup you can call who ever runs that plan and ask them how to get started. It will require you filling out a form with the old 401k provider and they’ll transfer the balance of your account directly to the new 401k.  2) Rollover the old 401k to a Traditional IRA. This involves opening a new traditional IRA if you don’t already have one (I assume you don’t). Vanguard is a reddit favorite and I can vouch for them as Well. Other shops like Fidelity and Schwab are also good but since Vanguard is very low cost and has great service it’s usually a good choice especially for beginners.  3) Convert the old 401k to a ROTH IRA. This is essentially the same as Step 2, the difference is you’ll owe taxes on the balance you convert. Why would you voluntarily want to pay taxes f you can avoid them with options 1 or 2? The beauty of the ROTH is you only pay taxes on the money you contribute to the ROTH, then it grows tax free and when you’re retired you get to withdraw it tax free as well. (The money contained in a 401k or a traditional IRA is taxed when you withdraw in retirement).   My $.02. 401k accounts typically have higher fees than IRAs, even if they own the same mutual funds the expense ratios are usually more in the 401k. The last 2 times I’ve changed jobs I’ve converted the 401k money into my ROTH IRA. If it’s a small sum of money and/or you can afford to pay the taxes on the money I’d suggest doing the same.  You can read up heavily on the pros/cons of  ROTH vs Traditional but My personal strategy is to have 2 “buckets” or money when I retire (some in ROTH and some in Traditional). I can withdraw as much money from the Traditional account until I Max out the lowest Tax bracket and then pull any other money I need from the ROTH accounts that are tax free.This allows you to keep taxes fairly low in retirement.  If you don’t have a ROTH now this is a great way to start one.
"You can rollover money from a 401(k) to Traditional IRA and back to a 401(k). There are likely account closure fees associated with this, so it's not completely free. As long as you're rolling from one tax deferred account to another there are no penalties. The IRS has a handy chart showing what accounts can roll where. Note, starting next year, you can only do one IRA rollover per year. The IRS has additional general information on retirement account rollovers. One additional comment - on the concept of your money being ""locked"" into an IRA. Generally you have far more options with an IRA than a 401(k). If you go with a large, low cost provider like Vanguard you're likely to be much better off than in a small company 401(k) that only offers costly funds that are likely selected primarily to benefit the administrator of the plan. Choose your IRA provider and the investments with them wisely, and leave that money there for a very long time."
mhoran answered the headline question, but you asked - Could someone shed some light on and differentiate between a retirement account and alternative savings plans? Retirement accounts can contain nearly anything that one would consider an investment. (yes, there are exception, not the topic for today). So when one says they have an S&P fund or ETF, and some company issued Bonds, etc, these may or may not be held in a retirement account.  In the US, when we say 'retirement account,' it means a bit more than just an account earmarked for that goal. It's an account, 401(k), 403(b), IRA, etc, that has a special tax status. Money can go in pre-tax, and be withdrawn at retirement when you are in a lower tax bracket. The Roth flavor of 401(k) or IRA lets you deposit post-tax money, and 'never' pay tax on it again, if withdrawn under specific conditions.  In 2013, a single earner pays 25% federal tax on taxable earnings over $36K. But a retiree with exactly $46K in gross income (who then has $10K in standard deduction plus exemption) has a tax of $4950, less than 11% average rate on that withdrawal. This is the effect of the deductions, 10% and 15% brackets.  As with your other question, there's a lot to be said about this topic, no one can answer in one post. That said, the second benefit of the retirement account is the mental partitioning. I have retirement money, not to be touched, emergency money used for the broken down car or appliance replacement, and other funds it doesn't feel bad to tap for spending, vacations, etc. Nothing a good spreadsheet can't handle, but a good way to keep things physically separate as well.   (I answered as if you are in US, but the answer works if you rename the retirement accounts, eg, Canada has similar tax structure to the US.)
"You need to contact the institution that is holding your current account, have them sell your fund investment, and then close your account and send you a check for the balance. Then you can open an account directly with Vanguard (or call 800-319-4254). You don't need an account with an online broker unless you want to be able to invest in funds outside the Vanguard family. Fees will depend on the institution that you are currently using and the fund. With some funds you have to pay a ""load"" (percentage of your assets, in the neighborhood of a couple of percent) when you redeem shares. Your institution may charge you a fee for redeeming the fund (anywhere from $0/free to maybe $40 or higher). Some institutions will charge a fee for closing the account. (I've seen anything from $0/free to $40, but I haven't looked around in a while.) As MrChrister points out in a comment below, this is not the best method for an IRA. In that case, you'd want to make a transfer, and I'd recommend calling both your current institution and Vanguard (or wherever you end up transferring funds to) for forms and instructions on how best to do it."
While a margin account is not required to trade options, a margin account is necessary to take delivery of an exercised put. The puts can be bought in a cash account so long as the cash necessary to fund the trade is available. If you do choose to exercise which almost never has a positive expected value relative to selling except after the final trading time before expiration, taxes notwithstanding, then your shares will be put to your counterparty. Since options almost always trade in round lots, 100 shares will have to fund the put exercise, or a margin account must satisfy the difference. For your situation, trading out of both positions would be probably be best.
You cannot just transfer or rollover from a traditional to a Roth IRA, because they are taxed differently.  You'd have to do a distribution from your traditional (which will be taxed and possibly penalized, depending on your income and age), and a contribution to your Roth (which is limited based on annual contributions to all your IRAs). A conversion is not limited by dollar amount (unless you must take an RMD... required distributions may not be converted).  There is no income limit for 2010 and beyond (previously $100k MAGI), and there are no penalties.  However, all you must pay tax on all untaxed dollars - this means the original contributions as well as the growth. It all depends on the size of your IRA, your investment options, and your expected tax bracket at retirement.  Traditional IRA distributions are considered income for the year, while Roth distributions are not.
One representative I spoke to suggested moving the money into a new   IRA, making up the difference from my own pocket, and then asking for   a rebate a tax time. Will this work? That's probably the only thing that will work, and you have to do this ASAP: you have 60 days from the distribution to complete the deposit. Make sure to make up for the withheld 20%, and deposit into the IRA the full amount, and make sure to give all the relevant information to your tax preparer to ensure you do get the withheld 20% back as a tax credit. You can check with your current 401k plan if you can deposit there, but in many cases you cannot. IRA is a safe bet.
"A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, Rollover IRAs were used for funds that came from (were rolled over from) a 401(k) account or a 403(b) account. All that money (including any earnings in the interim) could be rolled over into a 401(k) plan with a new employer etc.  One could make a regular contribution to a Rollover IRA but once such a commingling of money occurred, none of the money in the Rollover IRA could be rolled over into a 401(k) account etc. In those good old days when contributions to IRAs were made by paper check and ""deposit slip"", one had to write a letter to the Rollover IRA custodian certifying that the IRA owner understood that the contribution would destroy forever the possibility of rolling over the money into another 401(k) etc. All this went by the wayside a few years ago when the law changed and the distinction between Rollover IRAs and ordinary Traditional IRAs was eliminated. Commingling of IRA contributions and Rollover money from 401(k)s are permitted, and the entire IRA balance could be rolled over into a new 401(k) plan (provided the new plan accepted rollovers). However the adjectives still persist; like chili555, I too have IRAs that are still called Rollover IRA, they all have commingled funds, and if the law ever changes back, none of those IRA accounts would be eligible for rolling over into a new 401(k)."
Not really reasonable because you can't hold a gift card in your IRA, but clever idea none the less. I'm sure a few smaller investors would take advantage of that in a taxable account if it was remotely possible.
There are lots of sub-parts to your question. Let's takle them one at a time. Should I worry about an IRA at this age? Absolutely! Or at least some form of retirement account. When you are young is the BEST time to start putting money into a retirement account because you have so much time for it to grow. Compounding interest is a magical thing. Even if you can only afford to put a very small amount in the account, do it!  You will have to put a heck of a lot less money into the account over your working career if you start now. Is there a certain amount  you need for the IRA deduction? No. Essentially with a traditional IRA you can just subtract the amount you deposited (up to the contribution limit) from your income when calculating your taxes.  What kind of IRA should I get? I suggest a ROTH IRA, but be warned that with that kind you get the tax breaks when you retire, not now. If you think taxes will be higher in 40 years or so, then the Roth is a clear winner.  Traditional IRA: Tax deduction this year for contribution; investment   plus gains are taxed as income when   you take the money out at retirement. Roth IRA: Investment amount is taxed in the year you put it in; no   taxes on investment amount or gains   when you take it out at retirement. Given the long horizon that you will be investing, the money is likely going to at least double. So the total amount you are taxed on over your lifetime would probably be less with the ROTH even if tax rates remain the same. Is the 401K a better option? If they offer a match (most do) then it is a no-brainer, the employer 401K always comes out on top because they are basically paying you extra to put money into savings.  If there is no match, I suggest a Roth because company 401K plans usually have hidden fees that are much higher than you are going to pay for setting up your own IRA or Roth IRA with a broker.
Yes, you can have both.  You'll need business income to contribute to a SEP IRA though.
According to the IRS, you can still put money in your IRA. Here (https://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/Plan-Participant,-Employee/Retirement-Topics-IRA-Contribution-Limits) they say: Can I contribute to an IRA if I participate in a retirement plan at work? You can contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA whether or not you participate in another retirement plan through your employer or business. However, you might not be able to deduct all of your traditional IRA contributions if you or your spouse participates in another retirement plan at work. Roth IRA contributions might be limited if your income exceeds a certain level. In addition, in this link (https://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/IRA-Deduction-Limits), the IRS says: Retirement plan at work: Your deduction may be limited if you (or your spouse, if you are married) are covered by a retirement plan at work and your income exceeds certain levels. The word 'covered' should clarify that - you are not covered anymore in that year, you just got a contribution in that year which was triggered by work done in a previous year. You cannot legally be covered in a plan at an employer where you did not work in that year.
You weren't eligible for a 401K in 2010, but you were eligible for an individual IRA.  If you had known by April 18th that you had this extra money, you could have deposited (not rolled over) the money, up to the maximum ($5,000 or so, I think), into an IRA account  You could do that because you didn't participate (legally) in an employer retirement program. But you didn't learn until early May, so you missed that deadline.  I doubt that the IRS has any provisions for waiving that April 18th deadline, but I could be wrong: see the IRS publications. In any case, to answer the question directly - no, you can't roll over the money you're getting back, because it was mistakenly in the 401K plan.  It will now become part of your 2011 income, and so you'll owe taxes on it when you file your tax return for the tax year 2011, in early 2012.
"I am a CPA. Yes you can do what you are contemplating. Be careful that they do not take any taxes out of the money when you go to do the ""rollover"". If they do you will have to dip into your own pocket to put that back into the IRA."
Yes, it's completely normal to buy (and sell) puts and other options without holding the underlying.  However, every (US) brokerage I know of only permits this within a margin account.  I don't know why...probably a legal reason.  You don't actually have to use the margin in a margin account.  If you want to trade options, though, you will need a margin account.
Suppose you contribute $5000 to an IRA in a non-deductible mode. But you also have a different IRA funded with pretax money that now has $45,000. As far as IRS is concerned, you have one $50,000 IRA and only $5000 (10%) is post-tax. You convert $5000 to Roth and IRS says 90% of that money is taxable, since it's the same pool of money. You owe taxes on all of it less the $500 fraction that was pre-taxed, and $4500 of already-taxed IRA remains in the account. The math gets totally out-of-hand after just a couple of conversions. Your best bet is to convert the whole shebang at one time -- and to avoid a monstrous tax hit, do this in a gap year."