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...

Things are slowing working through the system right now and I'm getting some payments coming it. Yeah, it's just a lot when I have a few dozen people depending on me to get this right. At the core of it I'm just a guy with a couple of theatre degrees.

Would a revolving credit line help? We (the corporation I work for) have a factor that pays us up front and then collects from our customers after 90 days or whatever - is there maybe a small business version of that?

I do have a business line of credit, and yes, it does help, just not always, and cash flow inevitably hits when the LoC doesn't have room on it.

Ah, that's too bad.

Are there any Buffistas with good knowledge of all things Social Security and Medicare? I am hurting my head trying to make decisions as I approach the big 65 in February.

On the Medicare, it seems to make sense on the surface. I don't take any pharmaceuticals so I just would need some type of supplemental for things like acupuncture and chiropractic which I do like. I've been using an HSA plan for the past few years. This lets me write off purchases of vitamins and pretty much anything closely resembling health care, but I can't contribute to one anymore (apparently) after I turn 65. The health insurance stuff is further complicated by DH being 11 years younger than me. So no more joint plans if I do go to Medicare. But he has different health issues including needing hernia surgery and having RA, so our plan needs are quite different.

On the SS decision making front, I am leaning toward taking my SS in February. Yes, I would get a bunch more when I turn 70, but I can change my business payroll to pay DH a bunch more so that when he gets to retirement age his amount would be higher. I have a bunch of spreadsheets for figuring out that one so I'll probably continue to map out the different options and see what works.

It is all so confusing! Anyway, if anyone knows more about this stuff than I do I would appreciate any thoughts.

My company is having a rough patch right now due to a very slow beginning of the year. I just had to put together an email to send out to a few folks to try to raise some money to bridge things to get us through the next couple of months. There is some really good work coming, I just need to find a way to get the company there.

That was a very difficult letter to write, and even harder to send.

Sigh.