Answers in Financial Planning

Tammy,

It is not clear from your question, if you are looking for a partial distribution, full distribution, or you are just looking to roll over your 401(K) into an IRA so it is more easily manageable and/or accessible. Maybe you are looking to take out a loan or get an RMD?

If you have found your answer through the previous responses to your question, then you don't need to answer the above. Otherwise, feel free to give me a call or send me an email (www.endowmentwm.com).

Thanks,

If you can't find your old statement, you can also ask your former human resources contact for information as well. There is likely a form you will need to fill out and submit (sometimes over the phone) and it might require your former employer to sign off. Definitely don't forget about taxes and penalties!

Some plans may offer a loan from your account balance. The money would have to paid back with interest to your account with after tax money. So, it is not always the best idea. If you have exhausted all other avenues, you would need to contact your HR department. They should be able to guide through whatever choice fits your situation the best.

Roop, I would speak with your personal CPA and the HR rep or retirement specialist at your company on this issue. If you work internationally the income your earn overseas, assuming you are resident of that country, most likely can not be contributed to your 401(k).

Roop--I don't know that you can continue in your 401k, as that will be up to your employer and the plan administrator, but you can still contribute to your IRA as long as you are receiving some income in the United States. If all of your pay is through the host country, you could opt not to take the foreign earned income exclusion to create some U.S. income (I'd do this to the max contribution limit for you and, if applicable, your spouse). If your spouse, still in the U.S., earns income such that you could contribute under her spousal income, then this would not be worth it.

If you are looking to withdraw funds from your 401(k) account, be careful. There may be penalties and taxes due for an early withdraw that is not emergency related. If you are looking to borrow funds from your account, there are different rules for paying the money back. Check with your human resources department or 401(k) custodian for more information specific to your company's plan.

There should be a phone number on your statement. You can always check Brightscope's Retirement Plan Search and after searching for your former employer's plan, click on the Form 5500 tab and find the contact info for the plan sponsor. Keep in mind if you are under the age of 59 1/2, there will likely be a 10% early distribution tax penalty in addition to income tax for any withdrawals.

Check out American Express, Ally Bank and EverBank. EverBank may not have the higher rate than the other two, but they do have other alternative bank products that will allow you to put your money into CDs that pay interest but are denominated in other countries currencies. So if you have any thoughts that the value of another countries money may become more valuable that the US dollar during the holding period of the CD, then you would earn both the Stated Interest Rate plus any appreciation in the countries currency that may occur. Obviously this is more risky than just keeping you investment in US Dollars because you could find that the foreign currency decreased in value during the holding period and that would result in a decrease of the Stated Interest Rate.

If I remember correctly, these bank CDs, even though issued in foreign currency still will be insured by the FDIC, even though the currency is not being held in Dollars.

I hope this helps you.

Sincerely,

Herbie Glass, MBA, Certified Pension Consultant Glass Retirement Strategies, Inc. Bingham Farms, Michigan www.glassretirement.com

P.S. Today, on 5/5/2013, the money market rates being paid is: Ally Bank = 0.84%; American Express = 0.85%; and, EverBank =. 1.01%. Each bank is also paying a higher rate on their CDs.

Check out American Express, Ally Bank and EverBank. EverBank may not have the higher rate than the other two, but they do have other alternative bank products that will allow you to put your money into CDs that pay interest but are denominated in other countries currencies. So if you have any thoughts that the value of another countries money may become more valuable that the US dollar during the holding period of the CD, then you would earn both the Stated Interest Rate plus any appreciation in the countries currency that may occur. Obviously this is more risky than just keeping you investment in US Dollars because you could find that the foreign currency decreased in value during the holding period and that would result in a decrease of the Stated Interest Rate.

If I remember correctly, these bank CDs, even though issued in foreign currency still will be insured by the FDIC, even though the currency is not being held in Dollars.

I hope this helps you.

Sincerely,

Herbie Glass, MBA, Certified Pension Consultant Glass Retirement Strategies, Inc. Bingham Farms, Michigan www.glassretirement.com

BrightScope is just a website that aggregates data. They are not the custodians for your 401k, IRA, or bank accounts.

For help on withdrawing money from your accounts, check your statements for the phone number to call or talk to the people who helped you start your account, like your HR department or financial adviser.

Hi Nestor,

If the company you work for set their retirement plan, such as a 401(k) Plan, there are many companies that an employer can choose to work with that supply Employee printed information in Spanish. These Plan investment and record keeping companies also often have Spanish speaking enrollers that would hold an election meeting for the Employees of your company and be able to speak Spanish so that the employees attending can understand everything they need to know and can get their questions answered, all in Spanish. In addition, these companies usually have Spanish speaking operators that you can call on an 800 Toll free telephone number to ask questions and request that certain transactions be handled for you.

So, what you must do is ask your employer, or a person at your employer's who is responsible for overseeing your plan and field employee questions, what you can do to make contact with Spanish speaking representatives of your investment plan to speak with. On the other hand, if there is no one that can speak with you in Spanish, then I am afraid that you will have to find someone independent that speaks both English and Spanish that you can ask to translate and explan everything for you.

Also, my answer above primarily discusses the options for you if your question pertains to an employer sponsored retirement plan. But, if you are just asking because you want to invest independently and need a Financial Planner that speaks Spanish, then I would suggest that you contact a few brokerage firms and banks and ask if they have any financial planners who speak Spanish. If that doesn't work out, my last suggestion is to contact the organization that either all the Certified Financial Planners are members of or another organization that has financial planners that they refer to people looking for help and ask them to patch you together with a Spanish speaking financial planner for you.

Hopefully one of my ideas mentioned above will be of help to you.

Good Luck,

Herbie Glass, MBA, Certified Pension Consultant Glass Retirement Strategies, Inc. Bingham Farms, Michigan Www.glassretirement.com

The first answer to the question is to contact the attorney you worked with in Louisiana to direct you on what your judgment of divorce defined at the time of the actual divorce. Most divorce settlements are confirmed in a Divorce Judgment which defines who ends up with what asset. If in fact, it is a part of your divorce judgment, then your former spouse could have forwarded the judgment directly to the 401k plan administrator. In that case, contact your plan administrator of your 401k plan and see if in deed, funds were transferred to your former wife in 1998. My question to you is what prompted the question now in 2013?

Carolyn,

In order to provide you with specific guidance I would need to know more about your current plan, the fees, your goals and the complete investment menu available to you. In general, all funds carry fees or the company managing the fund would not be able to stay in business. With regards to fees, index funds charge the lowest fees because they are not actively managed. As a company, Vanguard is known for charging the lowest fees in the mutual fund business however, do not just focus on the fees. Investing 75% into any one strategy or investment is not prudent. You need to set investment goals, quantify your risk tolerance, and review all of the investments in the plan. Please call Karp Capital if you are interested in learning how to make your retirement plan work for you.

Disclosure: The posted information is for informational purposes only. This message does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. All opinions and estimates constitute Karp Capital's judgment as of the date of the report and are subject to change without notice. Accordingly, no representation or warranty, expressed or otherwise, is made to, and no reliance should be placed on, the fairness, accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the information contained herein. Securities offered through Financial Telesis Inc., member SIPC/FINRA. Financial Telesis Inc. and Karp Capital Management are not affiliated companies.

Trish,

First of all congratulations on your first child and good luck with the delivery. Without knowing any of your other details, it is tough to give you any kind of advice. If you can share your summary plan description, I can check the details of your specific plan and give you proper advice.

However, I would go back to basics. The money that you have saved in your profit sharing plan is meant for your retirement. So unless you need it urgently and have exhausted all other sources, I would recommend not touching it. Also, you check and make sure that you are fully vested.

Be aware that if you take distributions before age 59 ½, they are subject to a 10 percent penalty tax. However, under certain circumstances you can obtain in-service distributions while you are still employed, which may allow you to avoid the age-59 ½ penalty tax. In-service distributions are possible in an emergency situation, such as being laid off or becoming ill or disabled. As another alternative, you may be able to borrow against your account.

At Endowment Wealth Management, our mission is to provide professional wealth management services that will sustain Multi-Generational Family Wealth, Unity and Legacy. Please check our website www.endowmentwm.com and give us a call, if you'd like.

Hi Will,

You can work on opening a 401(k) for your business up until October 1st for the present year - so in other words, you have until that time to get your 401(k) up and running for 2013 - and still make contributions to be credited for tax year 2013. Plans that are established after that can only accept contributions for the following year - for 2014.

It takes a while to evaluate all of the options and to put the plan in place, so I would get started now. You do not have to make (or even commit to) any contributions until later - once all those pieces fall into place, you know your cash flows, and you've had time to consult with your CPA.

The deadline for actually making contributions is the last pay period of the year for EMPLOYEE contributions (known as elective deferrals). But you have until your tax filing deadline - plus extensions - to make EMPLOYER matching contributions. This is because sometimes there are quite a few calculations involved to determine how much the owner and other higher-paid people in the company can put away, based upon the participation of the employees.

So... I'd get the plan set up NOW - evaluating which plan is the best, and what features you want to have. Take some time with it because you have to live with it. Then wait until all those "pieces" fall into place to actually start making contributions.

Jon Castle http://www.wealthguards.com