I have a question that I really should know the answer to, but I don't. It's 5 years since my old company was sold, and there's still a financial planning company managing my old comapny-sponsored IRA. My question is -- the IRA is mine, so...can I just "fire" the financial planning company and manage it myself? Is there any reason I need the financial planning company to administer it? Since my old company no longer exists and therefore no one can make contributions to the IRA, the IRA is just hanging out.

I know I need to roll it over into something different, but then I can just tell the financial planning company I don't need them, right? Or is there something I'm missing here? I don't have a ton of knowledge in this area.

t edit I really tried to google this, but the combination of terms I tried all led to pages telling me how an IRA works, which I already know. I just need to know if I need this company to administer the IRA, and if not, what do I do to end the business relationship and take over the thing myself?

I am pretty sure you can roll over IRA monies from any IRA account to any other IRA account by contacting the plan administrator and asking them to do it. Do you already have another IRA that you handle yourself (like at Vanguard or something)? If so I suspect it's as easy as calling the financial planning company, saying, "I want to roll over this IRA's funds into my Vanguard IRA, what paperwork do you need" and doing it. (The financial planning company may try to talk you out of doing this, but I don't think they can actually prevent you.)

Edit: once the money is with Vanguard or whoever, you are done with the original company for ever.

Do you already have another IRA that you handle yourself (like at Vanguard or something)?

I don't, dang it. Though I could real quick open one up and then have them roll the old IRA into it and be done.

Yes, you can roll an IRA into an IRA at a different place that you open. Make sure to do what flea says and find out what you need to fill out in order to get it directly from one company to the other, without involving you. Otherwise, the IRS will want you to pay taxes on it.

Right, the first company should not be mailing you a check personally. The money should go directly from them to the new IRA.

Right, the first company should not be mailing you a check personally. The money should go directly from them to the new IRA.

I did know that much about rolling over an old IRA. (Though that is just about the limit of my knowledge about stuff like this.)

I actually think in at least one case, they did mail me the check, maybe made out to the new company? At any rate, I had to get it in the mail at my house and carry it over to the new company, which seemed ridiculous.

When I rolled over a 401K, that's how it worked. They sent me a check for 5 figures that made me extremely nervous to have in my custody, that I then sent to the new company (actually the same company, IIRC, they just couldn't transfer directly for some reason. It was dumb).

When you identify the new company for the IRA, they will be very helpful, because they want your money in their accounts. Your old company will likely not be helpful, as they also want your money in their accounts. I still have some money in TIAA CREF, which I could contribute to because I worked at a university. The money is still mine, but I can't grow it because I no longer work at an educational institution. They have not been helpful about getting it out. I was so annoyed, I put it aside. I should get back to that.

Steph, even if they send you the check directly, as others have said, you should be able to do what is called an "indirect rollover" yourself. I think it just has to be redeposited somewhere else within 60 days. You have to report it and you'll get a 1099 from the original $$ holder, but there wouldn't be taxes to pay. If you choose a good mutual fund place (Vanguard, Fidelity) as a destination for the IRA, they can be very helpful with this sort of thing. I had 3 different defunct 401K plans at one point that I just all rolled into in one IRA at Vanguard. They've been great over the years. It's where my initial 401K from when I worked in investment consulting was, and we just profiled their founder in the Business Ethics book I edited, which I think tells you all you need to know re their investment trustworthiness.

Ugh, ND, that is the worst. I hope everything worked out. I'm glad I have no one that depends on me because, here I am, struggling to come up with cash for November rent even though I have 3x my rent due to me by a client I can't bill yet because of a contract snafu. I keep thinking I've solved the cash flow thing and yet...