- 1). Find an IRA plan where you would like to deposit the funds. Ask the bank or brokerage house that manages the IRA how to make out the check. You will want the named custodian of the account, usually the name of the brokerage house. If the check is made out to you, your old company will be required to withhold money for taxes, which will be complicated to sort out at tax time.
- 2). Contact the retirement plan administrator at your former employer. Let him know that you are planning to move your 401k to an IRA through a direct rollover. This means the money will be transferred from one trustee to another, and it will relieve you of any tax complications.
- 3). Give the administrator at your former employer specific instructions on how you would like the check made out. Make the check payable to the trustee of your new IRA in exactly the way that you were told to address the check in Step 1.
- 4). Deposit the check into your new IRA fund within 60 days. Take a look at the calendar. The check must be deposited within 60 days from the day you received the check. If the 60th day falls on a weekend or holiday, deposit the check no later than the previous business day.
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