Withdrawing my 401K upon leaving the USA
Feb 11th 2016, 12:35 am
#31
Powder Maggot
Joined: Nov 2004
Location: Nuevo Mexico
Posts: 4,452
Re: Withdrawing my 401K upon leaving the USA
A wide range out there. My 401k is vested from the start, 6% match, 4.5% non-match.
Waiting six years to be vested is abusive.
Waiting six years to be vested is abusive.
Feb 11th 2016, 2:30 am
#33
Powder Maggot
Joined: Nov 2004
Location: Nuevo Mexico
Posts: 4,452
Re: Withdrawing my 401K upon leaving the USA
It means that my employer makes a contribution to my account worth 4.5% of my salary even if I don't put in anything. Then they do the usual match on 6% of salary on top of that.
Believe it or not, there are a few people who haven't opened accounts and miss out on that 4.5%.
Believe it or not, there are a few people who haven't opened accounts and miss out on that 4.5%.
Feb 11th 2016, 2:51 am
#34
L2, GC, Surrey, OH, TX!
Joined: Aug 2007
Location: Surrey to Dallas (via Ohio)!
Posts: 6,363
Re: Withdrawing my 401K upon leaving the USA
Wow, 401ks have certainly changed since I had one around 10 years ago. Back then vesting was a lot shorter. Just another example of the US worker getting done over by the employer......"Go Bernie"
Seriously everyone should be worried when the ability of people to save for retirement is reduced so substantially.
Seriously everyone should be worried when the ability of people to save for retirement is reduced so substantially.every major employer i had back in the UK was the same - their portion vested after 3 years.
Feb 11th 2016, 3:09 am
#35
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Apr 2011
Location: Ohio
Posts: 1,834
Re: Withdrawing my 401K upon leaving the USA
It means that my employer makes a contribution to my account worth 4.5% of my salary even if I don't put in anything. Then they do the usual match on 6% of salary on top of that.
Believe it or not, there are a few people who haven't opened accounts and miss out on that 4.5%.
Believe it or not, there are a few people who haven't opened accounts and miss out on that 4.5%.
That there are non-account opening people amazes me. Perhaps it's some subtle plot on the part of the company to winnow out those with an inability to do basic math or critical thinking, ready for the next RIF.
Feb 12th 2016, 5:13 am
#36
Powder Maggot
Joined: Nov 2004
Location: Nuevo Mexico
Posts: 4,452
Re: Withdrawing my 401K upon leaving the USA
You never know, although it would make more financial sense to get rid of the rest of us.
Although I've seen better, it is a pretty good deal. They had to make it competitive with the older pension plan. I could have chosen the pension (final eligible year), but figured I'd be the last person trying to claim from it. 401k seemed like a better bet.
Although I've seen better, it is a pretty good deal. They had to make it competitive with the older pension plan. I could have chosen the pension (final eligible year), but figured I'd be the last person trying to claim from it. 401k seemed like a better bet.
Feb 12th 2016, 5:33 pm
#37
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 147
Re: Withdrawing my 401K upon leaving the USA
This. 
There several good reasons to leave pension funds invested, even if that means moving them to a different provider or investment vehicle (401k, IRA, private pension, etc.), and very few good reasons to withdraw pension funds prematurely. ..... I never recall hearing anyone (other than the terminally ill
) say that they wish they had saved less for retirement.
There several good reasons to leave pension funds invested, even if that means moving them to a different provider or investment vehicle (401k, IRA, private pension, etc.), and very few good reasons to withdraw pension funds prematurely. ..... I never recall hearing anyone (other than the terminally ill
) say that they wish they had saved less for retirement.Just check what fees you will be paying annually and ensure that those will not exceed the value of growth. It's unlikely, but my story is one of investing in a personal pension in the UK as extra to my company pension. When I left that business and had a better place to invest with a new employer, I left that old fund as it was. I was young and silly. 5 years later, the lovely people at "St James Place" sent me a letter to say that the costs for the last year exceeded the value of what was once thousands of GBP invested
Just check is all I'm saying, and ensure you update any contact details you have with them in the years ahead so you don't miss any communication from them...
Feb 12th 2016, 7:02 pm
#38
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Mar 2010
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 8,106
Re: Withdrawing my 401K upon leaving the USA
You have company matching, that's cute.
Feb 15th 2016, 7:01 pm
#39
Just Joined
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 3
Re: Withdrawing my 401K upon leaving the USA
My understanding is that it goes into the 401k untaxed, so you pay tax on it if you take the money out before retirement. There's typically an early withdrawal fee too if you take a distribution before retirement. I've done this before and it helped to roll it over into an IRA first.
