I have money vested into a profit share plan from my previous job. what happens to that money now?

Answer 1

You should roll over to Rollover IRA now, bring it with you

Answer 2

It depends. Sometimes the company will just cut you a check...which is terrible for your tax bill

You can usually request that the money be rolled over to an IRA. Rolling over to an IRA is usually your best bet since it won't force you to recognize the income. Alternatively some companies are willing to hold onto the money until you hit retirement age.

You will likely have to make a decision on whether you want the company to hold onto the funds or whether you want it to be held in an IRA. There are lots of pros and cons and without knowing your situation better I cannot give you specific advice.

Call up Fidelity or Vanguard (or whatever investment company you currently use) and tell them you want to roll over a profit sharing plan into an IRA. They will give you instructions on what to do.

Also, call up HR from your old company and ask them what your options are.

Whatver you do...don't have a check made out in your name until retirement. This will cause a big tax hit.

By the way, some profit sharing plans have vesting rules in which you don't get the money that was contributed on your behalf unless you worked there a certain number of years. You can call HR from your old company to find out about that.

Answer 3

If it's vested then you still have your rights to it, even if you've left the company.

If your company is public then you may be able to sell it immediately (I'm not positive since you may still be subjected to some insider trading regulations for some time).

However, if your company is private, then you are sort of restricted on that, but still entitled to profit rights of the company.

Answer 4

if you contributed that money, you should contact the employer and ask them to cash out your portion...technically it is YOUR money.