2. Your career may take many
twists and turns
Americans, on average, have worked
11 different jobs by the time
they turn 42 years old.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, 2008, which is the most recent data available.
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3. Which road will you follow?
1. Stay put: leave it in the plan
2. Convert it to cash
3. Move it to your new employer’s plan
4. Take it with you with a Rollover IRA
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4. Option 1:
Stay put
You can often keep your retirement
savings invested in your old plan after
you leave your job.
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5. You may want to leave your
money in the plan
Pros Cons
• Tax-deferred compounding • Your investment choices may
• No taxes or IRS penalties be limited
• Some plans offer special • You may not be allowed to make
investment options such as additional contributions or
employer stock take loans
• You could have recordkeeping
headaches if you change jobs
frequently
• The plan controls access to
your savings
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6. Option 2:
Convert your savings to cash
Withdrawing your assets in a lump sum
is an option, but it’s rarely the best
choice for pursuing your retirement
savings goals.
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7. Avoid detours!
Taking a cash distribution can have a significant
impact on your ability to meet your savings goals
Pros Cons
• Immediate access to your • Distribution may be subject to
savings taxes and penalties
• The money can never be rolled over
to another IRA or employer
retirement plan
• If you don’t invest the money,
it could derail your retirement
savings plan
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8. Cashing out could mean
paying a hefty toll
Tax consequences:
• Income taxes due at current rate
• 20% mandatory withholding
• 10% additional tax on early withdrawals*
• Loss of tax-deferred status
* Most withdrawals made before 59½ are subject to a 10% additional tax penalty.
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9. Cashing out could mean
paying a hefty toll
Take it now Roll it over
Retirement plan $50,000 $50,000
account balance
25% federal –$12,500 –$0
income tax
10% early withdrawal –$5,000 –$0
penalty
Remaining balance $32,500 $50,000
* Most withdrawals made before 59½ are subject to a 10% additional tax penalty.
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10. There’s no substitute for time
on the road to retirement
Investor A stays invested
Rolls over a $50,000 Total Total
portfolio, which earns invested $367,009
8% a year for 25 years $50,000
Investor B cashes out,
then five years later tries
to catch up Total Total
invested $245,425
Contributes $5,000 a $100,000
year for 20 years, also
earning 8%
Illustrative purposes only.
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11. Option 3:
Move your savings
If you are changing jobs, you may be
able to move your savings to your new
employer’s retirement plan.
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12. Moving your savings can get you
further down the road to retirement
Pros Cons
• Tax-deferred compounding • Investment options may
of assets be limited
• Retirement assets under one roof • Rules governing withdrawals are
• Some plans offer special based on the plan’s provisions
investment options, such as • New plan may not be available if
employer stock purchase programs you’re starting your own business
or loan provisions or taking a part-time job
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13. Option 4:
Take it with you!
Transfer your savings to a Rollover IRA
without taxes or penalty.
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14. A Rollover IRA offers a range of
benefits, wherever your career
takes you
Pros Cons
• Wider range of investment choices • Does not offer loans
• Option to make withdrawals before • Special tax advantages for assets
age 59½ without IRS penalties held in employer stock are not
• Ability to convert assets to a available
Roth IRA • May offer less protection
• Easier recordkeeping and from creditors
management
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15. Two ways to roll over
your savings
1. Direct rollover
• Retirement assets are transferred directly from former
employer’s plan to:
–A Rollover IRA, or
–A new employer’s plan
• No income taxes due
• No mandatory 20% federal income tax withholding
• No IRS penalty for early withdrawal
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16. Two ways to roll over
your savings
2. Indirect rollover
• Distribution check is made payable to participant
• 20% is withheld for federal income tax purposes
• Participant has 60 days to reinvest distribution
(including amount withheld) in a new employer’s plan or
in a Rollover IRA
• IRS penalty for missed deadline is severe
–Cannot shelter those assets from taxes in the future
–Income taxes must be paid on full distribution
–10% additional tax if distribution is made before age
59½
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17. Keep your eyes on the road
• Remember, cashing out can cost you
• Compounding can help grow your savings
• A Rollover IRA may offer more flexibility
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18. Need directions?
Talk to your financial advisor
Call Putnam Investments
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19. A BALANCED APPROACH
A WORLD OF INVESTING
A COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE
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20. Investors should carefully consider the investment
objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of a fund
before investing. For a prospectus, or a summary
prospectus, if available, containing this and other
information for any Putnam fund or product, call
your financial representative or call Putnam at
1-800-225-1581. Please read the prospectus
carefully before investing.
Putnam Retail Management
putnam.com
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When retiring or starting a new job, you’ll have an important decision to make about what to do with the money in your retirement plan. You have several options. It’s important to understand their differences and the tax implications of each. Today we’ll talk about the choices available to you, and I’ll highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each.
If you’re like most Americans, you will change jobs from time to time. I imagine many of you have assets invested in a number of different retirement plans today. It’s important that you understand the options available for your retirement savings and how those decisions affect your retirement.
When you leave your job, you typically have four options available for your retirement plan assets. Let’s review each one in detail.
Depending on the size of your retirement plan account, you can usually keep your savings in your former employer’s plan even after you terminate employment.
If your employer allows it, keeping your assets invested in the plan is one potential option. However, your investment choices are limited to those offered by the plan. In some cases, plan features are further limited for non-employee participants. For example, you may not be allowed to make further contributions or borrow from your account. Finally, the terms of your employer’s plan determine how much access you have to your savings.
When you cash out, you get immediate, unrestricted use of your money. But the disadvantages of taking your money in a lump-sum distribution could outweigh this advantage.
Taking a lump-sum distribution may be tempting, particularly if your account balance doesn’t seem large enough to make a difference in the long run. But ultimately, cashing out is usually the most costly option.
Early distributions are subject to taxes and penalties, which can be severe. Your savings will be subject to federal and state income taxes, and 20% of the amount is required to be withheld for payment of taxes. Let’s take a look at a hypothetical example of what cashing out would cost.
First, you’ll pay federal and state income taxes on the plan balance. In addition, your lump-sum distribution may also be subject to a 10% tax penalty if the withdrawal is made before you reach age 59½ . The total of taxes and penalties could be as much as 50% of your savings. And after 60 days, money that is withdrawn loses the flexibility to move into an employer plan or IRA — in other words, it loses tax-deferred status. But perhaps the biggest cost of cashing out early is a missed opportunity to accumulate enough money for a comfortable retirement.
As you can see, there’s no substitute for time when it comes to saving for retirement. Even if you stopped contributing to your retirement account altogether, in the example above, staying invested was a better strategy than trying to play catch-up over a shorter time horizon.
The third option is to transfer your assets to a new plan, if you’re changing jobs and your new employer’s retirement plan allows it.
By transferring your money to your new employer’s plan, your savings continue to accumulate tax deferred. With what’s called a “direct rollover,” you avoid current income taxes and the 20% mandatory withholding. With an indirect rollover, you must be sure to deposit your distribution (including the amount withheld) within 60 days. Your retirement money will then be in one place and easier to track. Also, your new plan may offer special investment options such as employer stock, or special features such as participant loans. The downside, however, is that your investment choices are limited to those the plan offers, which may be fewer than those available in your old plan. The plan may also limit withdrawals or exchanges among investments, and you may not have access to your money in case of an emergency. Similarly, some plans may not offer distributions prior to age 59½ in a manner that avoids the 10% penalty on early withdrawals. And, of course, if you’re leaving the full-time work force, you may not have access to a new plan.
A Rollover IRA is a convenient way of consolidating assets from one or more employer retirement plan accounts. Even if you only have assets in one former employer’s plan, rolling over the assets from that plan to an IRA when you leave your job may give you greater control over your retirement savings in the future. Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of a Rollover IRA.
A direct rollover to a Traditional IRA is a popular choice for job changers and retirees. IRA assets remain tax deferred until you withdraw the earnings in retirement. An IRA may also offer a wider range of investment choices than the average 401(k) plan. More importantly, IRAs can offer added flexibility when it comes time to withdraw your savings. For example, in the event of an early retirement (before age 59½ ), you have the opportunity to withdraw funds penalty free by taking what are called “substantially equal periodic payments.” While some qualified plans may offer a similar distribution option, many do not. And if you don’t need all your IRA assets for retirement and would like to leave more money to your heirs, you may be able to stretch your IRA’s tax deferral to provide income and growth potential for your children or grandchildren. Lastly, having all your retirement assets under one roof simplifies everything from statements to tax reporting and may reduce the expense and hassle of maintaining several employer retirement plan accounts. There are some disadvantages, however. Unlike 401(k) plans, you cannot borrow money from an IRA. Also, employer plans that permit assets to be invested in employer stock are eligible for favorable tax treatment upon distribution of the stock. These advantages are not available upon distribution of stock from an IRA. Also, while many state laws offer IRA assets some protection from creditors, federal law generally protects employer plan assets to a greater extent.
With a direct rollover, assets are transferred directly from an employer plan to an IRA or another employer plan. The check for retirement assets is generally made payable to the IRA rollover account or to the new employer’s plan. With a direct rollover, the former employer’s plan is not required to withhold 20% for prepayment of the participant’s federal income taxes. The distribution is not subject to the 10% early withdrawal penalty. Your retirement savings continue to grow tax deferred. You can typically initiate a direct rollover by calling your former employer’s plan administrator, who will help you get started.
With an indirect rollover, the distribution check is typically made payable to the participant. The former employer’s plan is required to withhold 20% of the assets for federal income taxes. The participant has 60 days to deposit the money in a Traditional IRA or another employer plan that will accept it. This includes the amount withheld, which the participant must obtain and roll over from other sources, such as a bank account. The penalties for missing the 60-day reinvestment deadline are severe. Income taxes are due for the year of the distribution. The participant can never again roll over that money to a tax-deferred account. And there’s a 10% additional tax on withdrawals made before age 59½ .
Saving for retirement isn’t always easy. But if you stay focused on the long-term goal, it’s easier to deal with the bumps along the way. Remember, taking a cash distribution from your retirement plan is almost always the most costly option and can seriously undermine your long-term goals. Thanks to the power of compounding, saving regularly over the long haul can have a powerful effect. And lastly, if you have money in former employers’ plans, consider rolling those assets over — either into your current employer’s plan or a Rollover IRA, which typically offers a wider range of investment options. Plus, your savings will be in one place, making them easier to keep track of.
Feeling lost on the road to retirement? Your financial advisor can help. They’ve got the insight and expertise to handle a wide range of retirement savings issues. And if you have specific questions on a Putnam Rollover IRA or mutual fund, you can always contact Putnam directly. Our highly knowledgeable representatives are happy to assist.
Since 1937, when George Putnam created a diverse mix of stocks and bonds in a single, professionally managed portfolio, Putnam has championed the balanced approach. Today we offer investors a world of equity, fixed-income, multi-asset, and absolute-return portfolios to suit a range of financial goals. Our portfolio managers seek superior results over time, backed by original, fundamental research on a global scale. We believe in the value of experienced financial advice, in providing exemplary service, and in putting clients first in all we do.