topic Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times? in Community Chat

Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

KathyPet — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 11:15:29 GMT

Does anyone know if there are restrictions on how many times you can roll over a IRA from one financial institution to another within a few month? Please note that I am not withdrawing any money I just want to transfer the entire amount from one institution to another right now. Fidelity Investments made such a horrific mess out of my request to transfer ownership of my husband's two SEP accounts to my name when I sent the death certificate in that I would not trust them to manage my grandson's piggy bank money at this point in time. My letter of instruction told them to transfer ownership of the two SEP's to my name. Instead without checking with me they withdrew all the money from those two accounts and transferred all the funds into a existing IRA rollover that I had with them. It has been a mess to get the money back out of my IRA and back into two separate accounts in my name. I want all the money out of Fidelity as fast as possible but just want to temporarily park it somewhere like a IRA at my bank while I investigate the best investment firm to move it to. Then I will move it again.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

hopi — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 12:01:36 GMT

Pretty sure there are restrictions and it also could be on multiple accounts but it is in a year framework and inheritances are different.

A good bank should be telling you what the rules are and the tax forms that have to be filed.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

Plaid Pants2 — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 11:30:20 GMT

It's best to speak with a financial adviser who is knowledgeable about these things.

Good luck! :-)

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

bri20 — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 11:33:34 GMT

I honestly don't know.

I would talk to someone at the bank you want the funds deposited. I'm sure they can tell you.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

shaggygirl — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 11:49:35 GMT

I don't know if this would be of any help to you at this point but when my husband passed and I had to deal with so much "stuff" as well as all this transferring of things including IRAs to my name I was so overwhelmed with it all that the attorney who handled other aspects of things hooked me up with an outstanding financial planner. He made the calls re the IRAs on my behalf, with me sitting there with the phone on speakerphone so I could say I was right there and giving him permission to speak on my behalf. He got all the paperwork needed sent to me then came and helped me fill it out properly and any other calls that needed to be made we did it the same way. I'm only telling you this because I'm wondering if you could get a good financial planner to help guide you with straightening all this out. He did have me close out a couple of other things and put the money elsewhere. And twice a year now he calls me or meets with me just to go over things as to how they're doing, any changes he thinks should be made and so forth. I feel blessed to have been put in touch with him as I felt in a deep dark hole as far as this kind of stuff.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

CalminHeart — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 12:05:55 GMT

To change from a SEP to an IRA might require a different contract number. If they put 2 into 1, they should easily be able to fix it. If there is more to it, call their compliance dept or law dept.

If the company messed up, they have a compliance dept that should handle this. State insurance and securities regulators regulate complaint handling and how soon a company has to respond and resolve it. If it's a registered product (ie: mutual funds, variable annuity), the SEC and FINRA also regulate it. If it was sold through a bank, the bank regulators also have requirements for handling complaints.

More general information about rollovers.

Most IRA products are such that you need to keep them for at least a certain period of time. A CD might have a 1 or more year surrender charge period. Mutual Funds charge fees that are deducted from your balance. Annuities have surrender charges unless you pay for a rider to not have them.

No one should want to rollover an IRA within months of the last rollover. Was the sale unsuitable? Was there a misrepresentation? Will you incur surrender charges? Have your investment goals significantly changed?

If the sale was suitable, you should not move it. If it was unsuitable, talk to the company to see if they can help you address the problem.

Rolling funds over and over hurts YOU. There are fees and charges for most products. Even if you don't have surrender charges in this short time, you paid for that.

No rollover is free to you. There is always a cost. It might be hidden. You might lose growth potential. You might incur fees or surrender charges.

If your agent is telling you to roll again, run away. Find a new advisor.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

Nuttmeg — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 12:38:17 GMT

A SEP and an IRA are the same thing.

https://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/Retirement-Plans-FAQs-regarding-SEPs

Please do not change something that is working.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

Another new name Sue — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 12:36:17 GMT

Fidelity made a mistake. I know you are angry, but don't be in a panic to move it. There is probably no harm in stepping back, taking a deep breath, and do your homework to find out where to move the account.

Asking your our question here is fine, but solid advice will come from a trusted professional advisor or financial institution.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

KathyPet — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 12:53:02 GMT

Yes, I am going to talk to at least two investment firms that have been highly recommended to me by friends. Both of these firms are run by certified financial planners. I want to get both firms recommendations on what I should do with the retirement funds before I make any decisions long term.

It appears as if the IRA rollovers are done directly between Fidelity and my bank acting as the two trustees and the money never flows through my hands then you can rollover as often as you wish as long as you do not touch the funds yourself and the transfer is direct between the two trustees involved.

Fidelity did finally correct the accounts by reversing the transfers from my husband's SEP's to my IRA and putting the funds back into 3 separate accounts however it took them 3 weeks to do it. I am so angry at them for this screw up that I just cannot stand the thought of them continuing to have those funds even for another day. In addition to the retirement account I also have some regular investment accounts with them that I am also going to close out and move.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

Still Raining — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 13:04:56 GMT

When you assume a SEP by death, it is to be placed in a IRA in your name. They did right. You are welcome to alter your investments, but if you do not wish to withdraw, it must remain in "your" IRA.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

Mj12 — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 13:11:09 GMT

@KathyPet I am glad you plan on getting advice from financial planners. I can't stand Fidelity; I had to deal with them after my Dad died and I was thrilled to be done with them.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

CrazyDaisy — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 13:40:48 GMT

First I am sorry for your loss.

Not knowing all the particulars of your situation, there may be regulatory issue concerning just changing the name. If they are joint they may have been able to take his name off the account, however if the account is solely in his name it will need to be cancelled and the proceeds transfered to you. I would suggest that you discuss this situation with someone you trust to avoid tax and penelty issues.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

Lipstickdiva — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 13:49:05 GMT

Just be careful. The reason I personally like investment places like Fidelity is because they are paid a salary. They are not paid a commission like so many others. Also, there are safe guards in place so a broker cannot run off with all your money.

There are no safeguards with individual investment brokers and you hear quite a few stories about how they took peoples' money that they were supposed to be investing.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

JustJazzmom — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 13:59:11 GMT

Look into Vanguard as well--no fees are charged to you. One of the easiest and cheaper companies around according to various reviews of financial institutions.

I'm not a fan of FPs who charge fees to manage your money. Do your research.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

Nuttmeg — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 14:56:34 GMT

@KathyPet wrote:
Yes, I am going to talk to at least two investment firms that have been highly recommended to me by friends. Both of these firms are run by certified financial planners. I want to get both firms recommendations on what I should do with the retirement funds before I make any decisions long term.
It appears as if the IRA rollovers are done directly between Fidelity and my bank acting as the two trustees and the money never flows through my hands then you can rollover as often as you wish as long as you do not touch the funds yourself and the transfer is direct between the two trustees involved.
Fidelity did finally correct the accounts by reversing the transfers from my husband's SEP's to my IRA and putting the funds back into 3 separate accounts however it took them 3 weeks to do it. I am so angry at them for this screw up that I just cannot stand the thought of them continuing to have those funds even for another day. In addition to the retirement account I also have some regular investment accounts with them that I am also going to close out and move.

It is not wise to do anything with your money right now. You should wait one year. There are always buy in fees, and exit charges.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

Mj12 — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 15:04:44 GMT

@Nuttmeg wrote:

It is not wise to do anything with your money right now. You should wait one year. There are always buy in fees, and exit charges.

There were no charges or fees for me to roll over into an Inherited IRA.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

Nuttmeg — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 16:55:11 GMT

@Mj12 wrote:
@Nuttmeg wrote:

It is not wise to do anything with your money right now. You should wait one year. There are always buy in fees, and exit charges.
There were no charges or fees for me to roll over into an Inherited IRA.

If I moved my investment account to a new company, I will have to pay something.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

Angel_Girl — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 17:28:51 GMT

You would be transferring it not rolling it over. You can do this as much as you like, but watch out for transfer fees.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

KathyPet — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 18:05:40 GMT

@Still Raining wrote:
When you assume a SEP by death, it is to be placed in a IRA in your name. They did right. You are welcome to alter your investments, but if you do not wish to withdraw, it must remain in "your" IRA.

Yes, you are correct. My husband's SEP's had to be set up as a IRA in my name. However, I instructed them to change the ownership of the existing two accounts to my name. No where did I instruct them to take all the funds from those accounts and put the money in the existing IRA that already existed in my name. For various reasons I need to maintain each account separately with separate funds in all 3. They were completely wrong to just assume that I wanted the money withdrawn from his SEP's and put into the existing account that I have. I gave them my home phone, cell phone and e mail for them to contact me with any questions. No one ever attempted to contact me to ask any questions or get any clarification. They have apologized profusely for taking the action they took without contacting me first. They had to reverse all the transactions they took and reinstate the funds in each account back to the balances they were prior to their screw up. Then I had to sign paperwork to open two new account numbers as IRA's under my name and then they had to transfer each balance in each account to the two new numbers.

Re: Rolling over a IRA multiple times?

CalminHeart — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 21:26:17 GMT

@Nuttmeg wrote:
A SEP and an IRA are the same thing.
https://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/Retirement-Plans-FAQs-regarding-SEPs
Please do not change something that is working.

A SEP is a type of IRA.