{"id":93,"date":"2010-05-10T20:29:25","date_gmt":"2010-05-11T00:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/?p=93"},"modified":"2012-02-23T13:08:31","modified_gmt":"2012-02-23T18:08:31","slug":"dusting-off-your-retirement-accounts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/2010\/05\/10\/dusting-off-your-retirement-accounts\/","title":{"rendered":"Dusting Off Your Retirement Accounts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Roll

Image by flickr<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Spring cleaning should apply not only to your house but to your retirement accounts. Whether you\u2019ve maintained 401(k) accounts<\/strong> at old employers or have already opened a Rollover Individual Retirement Account (IRA)<\/strong>, keeping an eye on where your accounts are held and what you\u2019re invested in can help you to get the most out of your savings.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve left your retirement savings with former employers, you should consider rolling over your 401(k) plans into an IRA. A direct rollover, rather than taking a distribution and depositing the assets later, will ensure that you keep the tax deferred status of your assets and avoid potential penalty fees.<\/p>\n

Why go through all the trouble? While there are exceptions, most people would benefit from transferring their money into an IRA. IRA accounts generally provide greater flexibility and lower fees. While 401(k) plans are limited in the choices of mutual funds they offer to participants, brokerage IRAs often come with an enormous breadth of investment options. Further, though your 401(k) may enjoy preferential pricing in terms of mutual fund fees, it is also likely to carry additional plan administration fees and expenses.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve rolled over your retirement savings, it is important to look at the risk and return profile of your portfolio. When was the last time you reviewed your portfolio strategy and mix of investments? Certain investments or mutual funds provide a false sense of diversification and security, making it important to regularly analyze your holdings. Focus not only on the risk characteristics and asset mix of the portfolio, but on the fees charged by your mutual funds. Very often, you will find that there are funds that better suit your needs at a lower cost than what you\u2019re currently paying. My article \u201cInstitutional Investing for the Individual Investor<\/a>\u201d covers this topic in detail.<\/p>\n

Even if you took all these steps years ago, don\u2019t overlook the importance of keeping up with your portfolio reviews. While spending too much time on your investments is also counterproductive, neglecting your changing needs as you go through life is a surefire way to end up in an asset allocation that is either too risky or too conservative for your present needs.<\/p>\n

The importance of regular reviews applies to all of your retirement and non-retirement assets, and I believe it is important to tie these check-ups to an overall review of your financial life. Your investment strategy should support your life goals and objectives, so giving yourself the time to focus on the big picture will go a long way towards a portfolio strategy<\/em> that works for you for the long term.<\/p>\n

For more information about Dusting Off Your IRA, download my free eBook, \u201c10 Tips You Need to Know About Your IRA Rollover\u201d. <\/a>This short book is packed with critical information that will help you make the right decisions about your retirement savings.<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spring cleaning should apply not only to your house but to your retirement accounts. Whether you\u2019ve maintained 401(k) accounts at old employers or have already opened a Rollover Individual Retirement Account (IRA), keeping an eye on where your accounts are held and what you\u2019re invested in can help you to get the most out of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[13],"tags":[14,15],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2p1nA-1v","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":154,"url":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/2010\/07\/07\/early-distributions-from-your-ira-rollover\/","url_meta":{"origin":93,"position":0},"title":"Possibilities and Pitfalls: Early Distributions From Your IRA Rollover","author":"Bradford Pine","date":"July 7, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Here at the Bradford Pine Wealth Group, we believe in educating and informing our clients. In addition to providing guidance on investment options and strategies, we feel it\u2019s important to include insight on the nuts and bolts of account management.\u00a0 One area that people generally don\u2019t know about is the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Retirement Planning"","block_context":{"text":"Retirement Planning","link":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/category\/retirement-planning\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1721,"url":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/2012\/02\/03\/5-things-you-must-know-about-your-old-401k-or-existing-ira\/","url_meta":{"origin":93,"position":1},"title":"5 Things You Must Know About Your Old 401(k) or Existing IRA","author":"Bradford Pine","date":"February 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"1)\u00a0 Your old 401(k) is not being managed by the best of the best! 401(k) accounts are great for many things while you\u2019re still employed with your current company, like high contribution limits and matching employer contributions. However, they are usually pretty poor when it comes to choosing investment managers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Retirement Planning"","block_context":{"text":"Retirement Planning","link":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/category\/retirement-planning\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":139,"url":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/2010\/06\/09\/roth-ira-rollover-or-not\/","url_meta":{"origin":93,"position":2},"title":"Roth IRA Rollover or Not?","author":"Bradford Pine","date":"June 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"A key component to successful investing is determining how to position assets for maximum return after taxes.\u00a0 It matters not what you make; it matters what you keep.\u00a0 Did you know that as of January 2010 you are able to convert your Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, regardless of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Roth IRA"","block_context":{"text":"Roth IRA","link":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/category\/roth-ira\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2506,"url":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/2015\/07\/22\/sabotaging-your-retirement-download-my-free-ebook-10-tips-you-need-to-know-about-your-ira-rollover-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":93,"position":3},"title":"Sabotaging Your Retirement? ~ Download My Free eBook \u201c10 tips you need to know about your IRA rollover\u201d","author":"Bradford Pine","date":"July 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve written a free eBook called \u201c10 Tips You Need to know about your IRA Rollover,\u201d and if you\u2019ve ever wondered what to do with your retirement savings you might want to take a look! It\u2019s a comprehensive, plain-English guide that can help you to understand the options and take\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Retirement Planning"","block_context":{"text":"Retirement Planning","link":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/category\/retirement-planning\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.bradpine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/ebook-Suit1-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2116,"url":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/2013\/04\/30\/enough-already-with-ignoring-your-ira-401k-or-403b\/","url_meta":{"origin":93,"position":4},"title":"Enough Already with Ignoring Your IRA, 401(k) or 403(b)","author":"Bradford Pine","date":"April 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"What is your next move going to be? Everyone wants to get in better shape, especially as we get older. But for some reason we have trouble taking the right steps in getting started, even though the mirror reminds us every day of our goals (sometimes that mirror also reminds\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "401(k) and 403(b)"","block_context":{"text":"401(k) and 403(b)","link":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/category\/401k-and-403b\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":262,"url":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/2010\/09\/01\/262\/","url_meta":{"origin":93,"position":5},"title":"Are You Ready to Retire?","author":"Bradford Pine","date":"September 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Ask anyone if they\u2019re ready for retirement, particularly after a difficult day, and you will likely hear an immediate \u201cYes!\u201d But when it comes time to seriously consider the issue, the question of readiness becomes much more difficult. How much should I draw from my IRA or 401(k)? At what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Retirement Planning"","block_context":{"text":"Retirement Planning","link":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/category\/retirement-planning\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.bradpine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}