[VIDEO] Baby Boomers now have a nice tidy sum resting in their 401(k). What now, is one to do with all these retirement dollars?
So you are retiring Baby Boomer and were smart and took advantage of your company-sponsored retirement plan. You probably didn't even miss the few dollars from your paycheck that went into the 401(k) plan. Years passed and the time came when you decided to retire. Aside from the customary gold watch, you also now have a nice tidy sum resting in your 401(k). What then, is one to do with all these retirement dollars?
This is a question that many members of the Baby Boomer Generation have faced when we have decided to retire. According to the Society of Professional Administrators and Recordkeepers, an estimated 6 million Baby Boomers retired in 2001. It is also estimated that by 2010 Baby Boomers are expected to rollover $400 billion per year. As the Baby Boomer Generation starts to reaching the retirement age of 65, the dollars available for rollover (the ability to switch from the employer's plan to a self-directed IRA) is literally a financial windfall.
Once you leave your company, your 401k or profit sharing plan will become transportable, meaning you no longer have to own the mutual funds that were previously offered to you. This allows you to select how your assets will be invested and with whom you want to do business. Though you can't take the money out of your retirement plan without paying taxes (and a potential 10% penalty if you're under the age of 59 ½), you can move it anywhere you choose as long as it remains under the retirement plan umbrella. It has been increasingly common for retirement to last many years. That's why you should make every attempt to preserve and increase the principal in your nest egg so you can enjoy a comfortable retirement. According to Spectrum's research, 35% of all assets in mutual funds are retirement related and growing every day at an average of about 13% a year.
Baby Boomers: • Control 70% of the total net worth of American households - $7 trillion of wealth • Own 80% of all money in savings and loan associations
18th Annual Retirement Confidence Survey
It is important to our financial well-being that we consider all the choices and inform our employer of our decisions before we pay out our distribution. The best way to start is to figure out our basic objectives - do we want mutual funds or a stock portfolio? Do we plan on managing our portfolio or have a professional manage it for us?
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