can you have both a 401K and an ira?
144789
Yes you can, but if your employer offers a 401k, a contribution to a traditional IRA may not be tax deductible.  Go to www.irs.gov and download publication 590 for the details.
266753
You should be able to roll over a 401k into an IRA without a problem.  Those Prudential people just don't want to lose your business.  Your money guy at the new place should be able to take care of all this for you.  And if he can't, find a new money guy.\n\n(Unless you bought some sort of annuity with it.  I can't tell if you did.)
77850
You can borrow against your 401K.
641815
You can do it, roll the money into a self-directed IRA.  Then you can use the money to buy real estate, however there are alot of tricky rules about this, so read up on it before you try it.  I think you have to be careful not to mix your other funds with the IRA funds, etc.
797665
It makes sense to have them in one spot so that you can easily manage all of the funds and choose an appropriate asset allocation for your needs.  If your current employer has a 401k that you are eligible for, it usually makes sense to roll it over to your current employer's plan since you cannot roll funds out of the plan that you are currently in until you terminate employment or retire.  \n\nIf you are not eligible for the 401k at your current employer, I reccomend opening an IRA at Vanguard.  I work for a direct competitor of Vanguard, but I still believe they have better solutions for individuals (I know, I should go work for them).   \n\nIf you are not a saavy investor, make it easy on yourself by investing in an "Asset Allocation Fund".  The Vanguard funds are called "Target Retirement 20xx".  You choose the year that is closest to the one in which you will retire.  The fund manager wraps many funds into a single Target Retirement investment that is suitable for someone who is retiring in that particular year.  Lets say you intend on retiring in 2035.  Choose the Target Retirement 2035 fund.  As we get closer to 2035, the investment gets gradually more conservative.  Many fund houses have similar types of investments.  These are hands down the best investments for people who don't want to waste their time picking out individual funds that suit their needs.  \n\nGood Luck
1141574
There should be no expenses, penalties, or taxes to pay if you roll your 401(k) directly into your new 401(k) or to a traditional (non-Roth) IRA.  Do not have your old 401(k) holder send a check to you, they should send it direct to the new firm that will be handling your funds.
4569
30 years of contributing the max to a Roth IRA each year should create a million.  If you have a 401k at work that offers matching, contribute enough to get the max of the match.
53875
OK, you CANNOT roll a 401k account directly into a Roth IRA. You can roll your money into a Traditional IRA and avoid any taxation and penalties. (Definetly a good idea.)\n\nYou could then convert your Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, but in doing this you would have to include the amount you convert as taxable income (pay income tax on the full amount). This may push you into a higher tax bracket, depending on your income and the size of your account.\n\nAssets in a Traditional IRA will be taxed when you withdraw them in retirement while the Roth IRA assets can be withdrawn tax free in retirement. Speak with a financial planner to help decide which choice is best for you.
56556
There is no limit to the number of 401(k) plans you can have, other than the number of employers you have/had. Some employers require that you remove your funds within a certain amount of time; others just like having your money.\n\nI usually take my funds out of a 401(k) plan and put it into an IRA so that my old company cannot continue to manage (or mis-manage, think Enron) it. If you transfer it to a qualified IRA, there is no penalty. Talk to your old company and whoever's handling the IRA to make sure you transfer it properly ... there are usually standard forms. DON'T TAKE IT OUT FIRST AND THEN TRY TO RE-DEPOSIT IT ELSEWHERE ... THAT WILL INCUR PENALTIES!!
62381
If the employer provided a match, then yes.  If not and they have a match with the traditional 401k I would contribute to that.  If no match to either, then I would invest outside of my employer.  First in a Roth IRA and then in I bonds and mutual funds.
131505
You can, but it is redundant. Retirement funds are tax deferred; annuities are tax deferred. Unless you really like the additional guaranteesw offered by some annuities, and you're willing to pay the costs of the annuity then OK, but otherwise why pay the additional fees?
4641
yup, unless you're 59 and a half, then you will have to pay the full tax on the money taken out of your 401k plan, which means if you are working right now, you are in your income earning years, hence your tax bracket should be higher, maybe even to the next level depending on how much you take out of your 401k, since that would be counted as regular income.  and the IRS (uncle sam calls it a penalty, but I like to call it a tip) would also be needing that tip from you, a 10% tip for every buck you want to take out.  so, if you take 20,000 out, that would be more like 14,400 if your bracket is in the 28% range minus $2000 for that tip i would telling you about, which leaves you 12,400 for taking out 20,000.  not really worth it huh
151205
You can always rollover to your personal IRA account rather than taking the distribution.  Taking out the money from 401K not a good thing if you are not of retirement age because you have to give a lot to taxes and penalties.
1009135
You may be able to borrow some from your IRA account but I would not recommend it.  Typically it would be for a home purchase and not home improvements.  Honestly I am not certain so you may want to take a look at publication 590 from the IRA that details out the rules for the IRA in plain english (which helped me quite a bit!)
223414
As the other people have said, you can start either a regular IRA or a Roth IRA.  The money in these can be invested in a CD at a bank or into a number of other items, such as mutual funds.  The problem with having just the IRA is that you are limited as to how much you can invest.\nBesides the IRA, you may want to think about investing in an annuity.  In an annuity, you earnings grow tax deferred until retirement.  At retirement, you can have the money paid out as a lifetime income.  There generally is no limit as to how much money you can invest in the annuity.\nThere are different types of annuities.  You can get fixed, indexed, or variable ones.\nThe best thing I would recommend is talk to a financial representative to help you decide which plan best meets your needs.
1084342
NO....there is a substantial penalty, usually 10% for withdrawing 401K money early...not to mention you will have to pay taxes on the money.  Don't do it.
1165838
The first question is whether the IRA contribution will be deductible to you. In 2006, if your AGI exceeds $75,000 (married) or $50,000 (single), the deductible contribution to IRAs starts to phase out. Don't do it if it isn't deductible.\n\nNext, how fast can you pay back the loan? Generally, a long-term loan, even to yourself, is not going to help you because the interest is not deductible.\n\nFinally, would taking a 401(k) loan stop you from making 401(k) contributions? Don't do anything that would stop that, and blow your employee match.