401k vs company plan

L1: 401k vs company plan I face a decision next year. I turn 55 in 2007. I can retire and leave money in the company savings plan. The plan provides the 55 year oldexemption to the 10% tax and I can withdraw money every 30 days. I also can take a lump sum in lieu of an annuity and roll it into the companysavings plan or another 401K. I can also move everything to another 401K. I think I can get a better return in another 401 K as the company plan restricts investment to company stock and mutual funds but I would have to set up a SEPP. Any suggestions ??? Also if I set up a separate 401K and SEPP with part of the funds and also leave funds in the company plan for withdraw does this affect the SEPP calculations. Your site is very informative- Thanks2006-08-09 22:49, By: msradr, IP: [70.132.26.98]
L2: 401k vs company planI think you are referring to an IRA rollover when you mention another 401k. Also, I am not totally clear on whether you have two company plans or just a 401k. In any event, as long as you do not separate prior to this year end, any distribution you take from the company plans will be free of penalty. If you feel your investment options are really that much better in a rollover IRA, you could transfer part to an IRA and set up a SEPP for 5 years. If the company allows installment options from the company plan, however, that would not be as restrictive as a SEPP and you might be able to change the installments yearly or so. You could also rollover all of these plans to an IRA, partition the accounts into an IRA used for the SEPP and another IRA not part of the SEPP you could use for emergencies. Finally, if you have highly appreciated employer stock shares, NUA might be yet another option. Therefore, you may have a variety of options that cannot be assessed without considerably more detail.
To answer you final question, however, any SEPP you establish with an IRA account is not affected by withdrawals from other accounts, either other IRA accounts or company plan distributions.2006-08-10 00:01, By: Alan S., IP: [24.116.165.157]