Can any form of investment be combined?

Question

I live in NY and have an old Roth IRA from when I was younger. It has less than $10,000. My wife has a 401K with around $5,000 from her job that she quit. I also have a 457 that has a lot of money that I still contribute to regularly. I know that the Roth and 401K are dead, that is, I wont be putting into either. Can I do anything with these investments or combine them or anything?

Answer 1

You cannot combine them as their are the personal property of the separate parties and cannot legally be put together.

Roth IRAs never have any tax due on them. They must always be separate.

401(k) plans can be rolled into a traditional IRA but you may want to segregate it from any other IRA since you can sometimes preserve certain tax features of the 401(k) by always keeping it in a segregated IRA.

A 457 plan IS NOT a qualified plan. Unlike the IRA or the 401(k) a 457 is not a tax qualified plan. The only parties able to offer 457 plans are tax exempt entities. They do not owe tax on their activities so the assets are really part of the entity but in the hands of a trustee. There does not exist a circumstance in which they can be combined with anything. They are considered "deferred compensation." In other words, they are considered as pay not yet received, but are no longer subject to Social Security tax. Unlike a 401(k), which can be rolled over, a 457 plan cannot be. To remove money from it is to take a pay check.

Answer 2

Even though you are not contributing to the old Roth IRA, it will still grow in value. Check to see what funds are in it and possibly move it into a fund that's doing better.

With the wifes 401k, you can roll it into a traditional IRA and select a good fund to invest it in. Even if you make no contributions to it, it will continue to grow as well.

Check with Vanguard or Fidelity. Both of these companies are low cost and they will assist you with the rollovers.

https://flagship.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/home

https://www.fidelity.com/frameless_pr_B.shtml

Answer 3

I would keep my pretax and post tax retirement contributions in separate accounts. Easier for tax purposes later.