I Need H-E-L-P!!!

[tink2dw]

Dh lost his job, yad,yad,yad, but I have no understanding of what to do with his retirement fund, other than we need to roll it out of where it is and put in something else that we can borrow against till he finds work.

Can anyone help me to understand this mess?? DH was a nurse and I thought that medical workers had a certain kind of retirement account?? if we roll it into a IRA, then we can't get at any of the funds correct? Do We just have them cut us a check and take the $3000.00 penalty, leaving us $7000.00??

As you can tell I am clueless!! Dh's job was suppose to send us all the paperwork for this a week ago and still nothing....

Things are going to go critical mass April 1st when rent is due again!!

Please give me a clue as to what should happen??????

 

[C.Ann]

Dh lost his job, yad,yad,yad, but I have no understanding of what to do with his retirement fund, other than we need to roll it out of where it is and put in something else that we can borrow against till he finds work.

Can anyone help me to understand this mess?? DH was a nurse and I thought that medical workers had a certain kind of retirement account?? if we roll it into a IRA, then we can't get at any of the funds correct? Do We just have them cut us a check and take the $3000.00 penalty, leaving us $7000.00??

As you can tell I am clueless!! Dh's job was suppose to send us all the paperwork for this a week ago and still nothing....

Things are going to go critical mass April 1st when rent is due again!!

Please give me a clue as to what should happen??????

-------------------------------

You're right about the IRA penalty, but other than that the best I can suggest is that you call and talk to a financial advisor at your bank until you receive further info from your DH's former employer..

So sorry to hear he lost his job.. Hope he finds something else soon!

 

[debbi801]

Dh lost his job, yad,yad,yad, but I have no understanding of what to do with his retirement fund, other than we need to roll it out of where it is and put in something else that we can borrow against till he finds work.

Can anyone help me to understand this mess?? DH was a nurse and I thought that medical workers had a certain kind of retirement account?? if we roll it into a IRA, then we can't get at any of the funds correct? Do We just have them cut us a check and take the $3000.00 penalty, leaving us $7000.00??

As you can tell I am clueless!! Dh's job was suppose to send us all the paperwork for this a week ago and still nothing....

Things are going to go critical mass April 1st when rent is due again!!

Please give me a clue as to what should happen??????

I'm sorry you're going through this. I am too, but have some lee-way, since my end date isn't until the end of the month. You need to talk to a financial advisor. Is your DH's money in a 401K? If they write the check directly to you and not a retirement acct, you are going to pay huge penalties and taxes. You should be able to roll it into another 401K, independant of where he was working. Not sure if you'd be able to borrow against it then, though.

GL!

 

[PatsMom]

You need to see a financial advisor but since that expense probably won't help your budget right now, you need to start doing some reading. You have a lot of options - direct rollover to an IRA being the best way to preserve the pre-tax money working for retirement. Problem with this plan is that you say you need to borrow against the money for current expenses - you cannot borrow using an IRA for collateral. If you are not working for an employer, you can't borrow against a retirement plan. If he has another job, you probably don't need to borrow. So you are really in a bind if the retirement money is your only emergency reserve. You have the option to withdraw it - just have the administrator make a check payable to you. They will generally have to withhold 20% for income tax. At tax time, you will owe tax on the money plus a 10% penalty. My suggestion would be to head to your local library and see what they have for reading material. There are several respected authors in this field who can give you general advice. Also, the IRS publication on individual retirement arrangements would review the rules on withdrawal penalties if you roll the money to an IRA and then withdraw prematurely (this would avoid the 20% withholding but you would still owe the tax and penalty - but you may not need all the money if DH finds a job soon). good luck.

 

[C.Ann]

You also might want to post this question on the Budget Board.. Lots of folks over there that are knowledgable in this area..

 

[Anthony1971]

I too would also suggest talking to pro
I can tellyou the penality is 10% plus you need to pay the tax on the money so if your tax rate is 35% you will pay 45%
I do not think you can borrow from a traditional IRA
companies allow this but it needs to be paid back is you loose/quit your job and the rules are set by the company
If it is urgant you may want to roll it it into an IRA and take what you need and only that.
I also know that the Gov't allows for hardship but what the guidliness are????
Good Luck

 

[CTPinkPrincess]

When DH separated from his last position, the financial person we used put his 401(k) money into an IRA - we'd be able to take it if we needed it but wouldn't be penalized until we did. I don't remember if it was any sort of special IRA or not.

Hope it all works out for you!

 

[MagicalMom]

It's probably a 403B instead of a 401K. Can your DH sign on with a temp agency while looking for a steady job? Maybe even one with a sign-on bonus. Then maybe you wouldn't have to touch his retirement funds.

 

[RNMOM]

The temp. agency is a good idea. Really you don't want to touch that money. It will cause you more headaches than you know. Don't take possession of money in any way or you will have about 30% off the top for taxes and the penalty. Not worth it.

Was he fired or layed off? He might be eligible for unemployment if layed off. I got it for a while once.

Why does he have to move it so quickly? I have never had to move it for at least 90 days. Some places will allow you to keep it there indefinetly. Do go to your bank and talk to the financial planner. They can help you transfer the money and start an IRA. Good luck. It isn't the end of the world and you have a few weeks till the rent is due.

 

[tink2dw]

Dh hurt his knee badly yesterday while job hunting. Right now he is on pain medication.