There are many reasons why you might want to roll over your IRA account. Perhaps you’ve parted ways with your employer or simply want to try a new company. No matter your reasons, rolling over your IRA doesn’t have to feel like pulling teeth.
If you’re struggling with rolling over your IRA, you’re not alone. Once you’ve decided that you want to roll over your IRA to a new company, you’ll want to make the most of the opportunity to earn bonuses for your efforts. After all, you are taking your business from one company to another, so why not let them earn your account management in the process?
Our guide may not be able to help you read the fine print on every IRA rollover, but we can help you pick out the best opportunities for your situation. Our list of some of the best IRA rollover perks below shows you that it can be worth it to roll over your IRA, depending on who you want to go with and what bonuses they offer new customers. In many cases, you may come out on top with more money than you had to begin with.
Are you ready to find out what IRA rollover perks you qualify for? Let’s begin.
Best IRA Rollover Promotions
Here is our list of some of the best IRA rollover promotions you can take advantage of.
1. Best Overall: Ally Invest
How much you can earn:
Up to $3,000
Conditions:
- Must make a qualifying deposit (varies for specific rewards)
- Must fund the account within 60 days
- Deposit and bonus must remain in account for 300 days
Why we chose it:
Ally Invest offers new, USA-based customers rewards for rolling over their IRA accounts. When you open a new account and fund it with a minimum of $100,000 within 60 days, you’ll receive a $300 bonus. If you’re looking for $3,000 in bonus money, you’ll have to deposit at least $2 million into your account.
Note that Ally Invest requires that $10,000 or more of the qualifying deposit must be non-Ally funds. You also have to keep your bonus and deposit within the account for 300 days. Trading losses do not affect this total.
2. Best Robo-Advisor: Betterment
How much you can earn:
Up to 1 year free membership
Conditions:
- Fund account with at least $250,000 or more
Why we chose it:
Betterment is one of the best robo advisors out there, and can be a great tool if you’re looking for cash-management accounts. With low costs and one month free for funding your account with $15,000 or up to $99,999, Betterment is a great option for investors who want to set it and forget it, leaving it up to algorithms to manage their investment assets.
While Betterment may not exchange cash for funding your account, the free Premium membership can be invaluable, especially in conjunction with low management fees ranging from 0.25% to 0.40%.
Additional perks include unlimited access to a team of financial planners over the phone, who can help you with aspects of your financial goals. Unfortunately, these financial planners cannot advise you on assets you hold outside of Betterment.
3. Best Referral Bonus: Charles Schwab
How much you can earn:
Up to $1,000
Conditions:
- Must refer a new Charles Schwab customer
- Referred individual must use code associated with your referral when opening an account
- Minimum rollover amount of $500,000 within 45 days of account opening
Why we chose it:
Charles Schwab recently merged with TD Ameritrade, but the referral bonus they currently offer customers shouldn’t go anywhere anytime soon. You can earn up to $1,000 by referring your friends and family to Charles Schwab, which in itself is a form of passive income if you really think about it.
Whether you are the referring party or the one who was referred, you’ll receive a reward based on the amount funded to the account. Deposits of $25,000 up to $49,999 will earn $100, while deposits between $100,000 and $499,999 will earn you $500. You must deposit the required amount of funds into your account within 45 days of opening it to earn the bonus.
Charles Schwab will award the bonus 1 week after the 45 days is up. Though Charles Schwab offers the best referral bonus of any brokerage on our list, it also offers commission-free trading and a wealth of investment opportunities to increase your wealth.
4. Best for Transfer Fee Refund: Firstrade
How much you can earn:
Up to $200
Conditions:
- Must email copy notifying Firstrade of transfer fee charges within 60 days of actual transfer
- Must maintain ownership of account and minimum balance of $2,500 or higher within one year of opening a Firstrade account
Why we chose it:
Unlike the other IRA rollover opportunities we’ve discussed, Firstrade offers outbound account transfer fee rebates. You can earn up to $200 back by completing the necessary steps. These include emailing Firstrade (within 60 days of the transfer) a copy of your statement from the previous broker detailing the transfer fee charge; keeping the account open at Firstrade for at least a year following the transfer; and maintaining a minimum required asset value for that entire year.
Firstrade notes that you should get an account credit within 30 days of confirming the charge. This bonus applies to most investment accounts, with balances of $2,500 or more. Mutual funds and fixed-income products do not qualify.
IRA Account Types
Individual retirement accounts, or IRAs, are one of the most common ways many people save for retirement. These accounts are managed by a third-party service that invests on your behalf. The goal is to increase your wealth so that when you retire, you’ve got enough to live comfortably on.
There are two types of IRA accounts: traditional and Roth. Each of these accounts can be funded with little money, but they can make a huge difference when it comes time to retire. Depending on what type of access you want to your IRA funds, you’ll need to choose the corresponding account type when choosing a new IRA management company.
Traditional IRAs
Traditional IRAs are one of the simplest investments you can make. They’re also good if you need to take out cash as you save for retirement, because you will be taxed on withdrawals in retirement. Plus, the IRS allows you to take a tax deduction now on any contributions you make before retirement.
Roth IRAs
Roth IRAs are another popular type of individual retirement account, which provides tax-free withdrawals after you turn 59 and a half. There are a lot of big fees up-front, but you won’t have to pay as much in the future, making this a popular alternative to traditional IRAs. There’s no immediate tax deduction, but unless you roll over a Roth 401(k), you won’t pay taxes on the rolled-over amount.
Benefits of IRA Rollover
You might be asking yourself, why would I want to roll my IRA over? The simple answer is to do more with your investments, even if they’re just $1,000 here or there. Plus, you may have to move your investments over if you’ve moved on from an employer and no longer have access to their retirement plan options.
Many people roll over their IRA account from an old employer-sponsored account for their 401(k). This is typically done right before, during, or after leaving that employer. If you do the roll over with intention, you should be able to avoid triggering early taxes and/or withdrawal penalties. Plus, you’ll potentially have a wider range of investment opportunities to choose from, often with lower associated fees.
Direct vs. Indirect Rollover
The rollover process can either be direct or indirect, and as you may imagine, a direct rollover is the best possible scenario. You’ll avoid paying taxes on the rollover amount and plus, it’s a lot less of a hassle than an indirect rollover.
For example, many indirect rollovers begin with the plan administrator holding 20% of your investments to potentially pay taxes for your distribution. In order to complete the transition between one IRA account to another, you’ll have to make up that 20%. You’ll have a maximum of 60 days in which to do this, and then that initial 20% will be returned to you.
The idea behind this whole process is that the 20% is basically held in escrow as a guarantee that if you don’t make up the 20%, you’ll forfeit it as an early withdrawal penalty. You will also have to claim it as income on your taxes for that year. If you make up the 20%, you avoid this altogether.
IRA Rollover Bonus FAQs
There is no limit to how much you can roll over into an IRA account.
A 401(k) is typically through your employer and requires you to participate in the investments your employer chooses. You won’t have a say in the investments unless you choose an IRA. Rolling over an IRA is a tax-exempt way to move money from one retirement account to another, and the best part is that you can have as many rollovers as you want.
Employers have the choice of offering 401(k)s and/or IRA accounts to their employees. However, unlike 401(k) contributions that are matched by the employer, IRA contributions are not typically matched by the employer.
Speak with the human resource representative at your employer to find out more about what specifics your employer offers when it comes to 401(k)s and IRAs.
Invest in Your Future the Smart Way
Rolling over your IRA account can seem daunting, especially if you’re not sure what’s involved. Knowing which perks you can take advantage of, however, can be a great way to make the most of the process and come out ahead. We hope this article has been useful to you in understanding that you can make your money work for you in more ways than one, in the here-and-now and in the future as well.
