Rollover IRA

Lord Abbett makes it easy to open a Rollover IRA. Anyone receiving a distribution from a qualified plan can take advantage regardless of your income or whether or not you are continuing to participate in a qualified plan. Find out about a no-cost Lord Abbett rollover IRA.

This material is intended as general information only and is not intended as legal or tax advice. Some of this information may be quite complex and we strongly suggest you consult with your advisor or tax professional based on your individual situation.

What You Need
to Know

Understand the key principles of individual retirement accounts.

Eligibility
Contributions
Distributions

What is a Lord Abbett Rollover IRA?

When you retire or leave a job, your former employer is required to give you distribution options, one of them being the option of having an eligible distribution transferred directly, penalty- and tax-free, to an IRA or another qualified plan. Our no-cost rollover IRA should be considered.

How does it work?

To start the IRA rollover process, it is generally a good idea for you to contact your former employer (owner, plan contact, or human resource representative) about any forms required to move the money. Some entities simply ask you to go to a Website and generate the request and/or the paperwork. If you are married, depending on the type of plan and/or its provisions, your spouse may need to sign a consent form to allow the rollover distribution.

You may be asked to complete an online or paper Distribution Election Form, which notifies your former employer how your assets should be distributed. If a paper form is used, it should be completed and returned as soon as possible to your former employer.

Completing a Lord Abbett Rollover IRA application will establish an IRA account and generate an account number. Your former employer may need the account number before transferring your account balance. Click here to access Lord Abbett's IRA rollover forms.

Your former employer will issue a check (or wire) payable to the new custodian. When Lord Abbett is the recipient, the check should be made payable to "Lord Abbett Family of Funds, IRA for [Your name]." To ensure a smooth transition, the newly established account number and the words "Direct Rollover" should appear on the check.

Advantages of the Lord Abbett Rollover IRA

Open and fund accounts electronically
No custodial fees—for life
No hassles

Fund sales charges may apply.

Who should consider a Rollover IRA?

If you are eligible to receive a distribution from a retirement plan on which you do not wish to pay current taxes.
If you wish to continue tax deferral on your retirement savings.
If you are separating from service after you turned 55, but are currently under age 59½, you should only consider rolling over assets that you will not need before age 59½, as a 10% penalty reattaches upon completion of rollover as it (the 10% penalty) does not apply to the distribution from the qualified plan.
If you have access to an in-service distribution and you wish to diversify your investments versus the options offered via your current retirement plan.

How does Rollover IRA benefit you?

A Rollover IRA offers several potential benefits, including:

No taxes are withheld on assets distributed into an IRA.
You can gain access to a potentially broader investment selection than may be available in your employer’s plan, giving you the option to continue tax-deferred¹ and potentially tax-free savings by opening a Roth rollover IRA for individuals with a designated Roth account (available in some 401(k) and 403(b) plans). (Click here for our Roth Resource Center.)
Allowing a non-spouse beneficiary to roll over a deceased participant's account balance from a qualified plan into a decedent IRA (not commingled with their own IRA).
The ability to roll all proceeds from a qualified plan into an IRA. However, if the plan contains any after-tax dollars, you may choose to invest these funds separately in a taxable account and only roll over the taxable proceeds.

¹ Income whose taxes can be postponed until a later date; examples include IRAs and 401(k) plan earnings.

Note: Be careful if you have a participant loan at the time of distribution. Generally, unless the plan has provisions to the contrary, the outstanding loan balance will become taxable income, if it is not repaid before transferring the former employer's plan account. Rolling over a plan loan is not permitted in an IRA.

Diversification does not guarantee a profit or protect against loss in declining markets.

An IRA rollover may involve the application of fees and charges to the investor.

Lord Abbett will waive (or otherwise pay) the yearly $10.00 custodial fee that would be charged each year on an ongoing basis to every new IRA account and, therefore, will not assess a custodial account fee in 2013 or any year afterward. Free also applies to the Federal Express (FedEx) charges currently absorbed by the B/D to submit paperwork to DST to open a Lord Abbett IRA account. Fund level fees and expenses are still applicable. Please see the current prospectus.