For those who own 401(k) plans through their workplace, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) says you can carry a 403(b) plan into the 401(k).
Alternatively, self-employed
individuals can roll over their 403(b) plans into a 401(k) plan.
It is however not
possible to roll a 403(b) plan into any type of 401(k) plan if your employer
does not offer a 401(k) plan.
Lessons to be learned
For employees who work for an employer that offers 401(k) plans, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) says that they can roll their 403(b) plan into a 401(k).
Self-employed
individuals can also roll over their 403(b) plans into more traditional 401(k)
plans.
It is however not
possible to roll a 403(b) plan into any type of 401(k) plan if your employer
does not offer a 401(k) plan.
Knowing How to Convert
a 403(b) to a 401(k)
There are many similarities between 401 (k) plans and 403(b) plans. You can grow your earnings tax-free in both of these investments, but when you withdraw or distribute in retirement, you are taxed.
To withdraw funds, participants must reach the age of 59 1/2, otherwise, they will be assessed an early withdrawal penalty of 10% and be taxed on the distribution amount.
Teachers, for instance, are eligible
to enroll in 403(b) plans; 401(k) plans are only available to private sector
employees.
Contribution Limits
for 403(b) and 401(k) Plans
For 2020 and 2021, the contribution limits for both 401(k) and 403(b) plans are $19,500 per year, which means that is the maximum contribution you can make each year.
A catch-up
contribution of $6,500 per year is available to people aged 50 and older in 2020
and 2021.
In addition, employees and employers must have a contribution limit of $58,000 in 2021 (up from $57,000 in 2020) or 100% of the employee's most recent yearly salary.
Regardless,
it's important to keep in mind that a rollover from one plan to another is not
essentially a contribution but rather a transition from one type of retirement
plan to another.
Rollover eligibility
Depending on your employer's 401(k) plan, you can roll over your 403(b) plan funds.
Alternatively,
the funds can be transferred or rolled into a SEP or 457 plan if your company
offers one.
You can also roll over money from a 401(k) at your old job to a 403(b) at the new company.
Alternatively, you may roll over a 403(b) or other qualified retirement plan offered by a previous employer into a Roth IRA or Individual Retirement Account (IRA).
When
you are hired by another company that offers a 401(k) plan in the future, you
are allowed to roll that money over into the 401(k), providing that it has not
been commingled with your IRA contributions.
Factors to consider
The IRS allows rollovers between 401(k) plans and 403(b) plans, but employers aren't required to permit rollovers into their own plans.
Your company needs to permit any
transfer you wish to make.
Rollover Details
The owner of a 401(k) or 403(b) retirement plan saves income taxes on their contribution in the year it was made because contributions are made with pre-tax dollars.
Basically, the annual income for an individual is reduced by his or her contributions for the year in determining income taxes due, thus reducing taxable income.
Since
both a 403(b) and 401(k) are pre-taxed, a rollover or transfer from one plan is
usually tax-free into the other Roth retirement accounts, on the other hand, do
not permit pre-tax contributions, so the money is contributed after-tax or
after earnings have been taxed.
In other words, if a 403(b) or 401(k) plan is converted into a Roth IRA or a Roth 401(k) and the funds are transferred, the funds can be taxed.
The Roth 401(k) and Roth 403(b)
can be rolled over to a Roth IRA, thereby avoiding taxes
You cannot roll over
required minimum distributions (RMDs), hardship distributions, corrective
distributions, or payments distributed as portions of the participant's life or
over ten years.
Mixed Contributions
A distribution from a 403(b) account is thought to come first from the pre-tax money and contributions if it includes both after-tax and pre-tax contributions.
A
distribution that is not taxable and includes after-tax contributions may be
rolled into a Roth IRA or another plan that tracks taxable and non-taxable
contributions separately.
In Bill's 403(b) account, all contributions and earnings are pre-tax.
The account can be rolled
over directly into a traditional IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or a government-eligible
457 plan, and no taxes are due. Tax returns for his next tax year will need to
include a transaction report.
He will have to report the distribution if he rolls it into a Roth IRA since Roth IRAs don't allow tax deductions, so the contributions are made after taxes.
While Roth IRAs
offer pre-tax contributions, withdrawals from Roth IRAs are not taxed in
retirement.