stocker1984

Hello,


I am moving back to the UK after 4 years in America.


Should I leave my 401k in the US or pay the penalty and transfer it? I am worried that if I leave it I won't be able to access it from the UK.


I am a British citizen, but my husband is American and we have a joint bank account.


Thanks in advance for your help.

Owen778

It's not clear to me why you wouldn't be able to access it. Why are you concerned?

stocker1984

I was worried that as a UK citizen with no US address I wouldn't be able to access my bank account. Am I wrong?

Owen778

Most 401ks are run online, so it shouldn't be a problem.

I'd recommed asking in the Moving Back to the UK part of the forum, though.

Steve_

It's not really a question of access, it's a question of hassle.

Depends on how much you've got in it.

If the tax hit isn't too bad you might find it simpler to just start over again with a SIPP in the UK.

FWIW: DT19876B - Double Taxation Relief Manual: Guidance by country: United States of America: Pension Contributions

The problem usually is that once you're resident in a foreign country, you cannot trade securities in a US account because of the Securities Act, i.e. the SEC won't let you. However the SEC is allowed to make special exemptions, I know Canadians are allowed to trade in RRSP accounts after becoming resident in the US, there might be something similar.

But no-one says you've got to invest in securities, CDs at the moment though are total crap.

So what you might want to do before you move, is stick it in say, an index fund or something else fairly safe and just leave it there.

Like I said, it depends on how much money you've got in it really. If it's just a few thousand I suspect it will just be a headache.