If you have enough money to contribute to your 401(k) plan and a Roth IRA, you may invest in a Roth IRA if your income level allows you to do so. Generally speaking, you should contribute to your 401(k) at least up to the amount that your employer matches your contributions. Beyond that level, it may make sense to invest the maximum allowed in a Roth IRA.

A company sponsored retirement plan with a matching contribution by the employer is normally the best choice. IRAs can be a useful way to supplement your retirement plan.

For 2000, if you participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan such as a 401(k), you can deduct the maximum $2,000 annual IRA contribution only if you are: If you are single and earn more than $42,000 or married-filing-jointly and earn more than $62,000 you can still contribute to an IRA, but you can't deduct your contribution. On the other hand, money you contribute to an IRA still enjoys the benefit of tax-deferred growth until you withdraw it at retirement.

No. Only monies from a participant's prior Roth 401(k) qualified retirement account can be rolled over into a participant's Roth 401(k) account within your Plan.

Most companies do not allow employees to select individual stocks in their 401(k) plans at work. Check with your Human Resources or Benefits departments to determine your company's policy. It is possible, however, for individuals to set up "Self-Directed IRAs" through brokerages, and you can select the individual stocks for those accounts.

Each year, the amount you can contribute to an IRA or 401(k) is governed by IRS rules. For 2006 the maximum amounts are $4,000 for an IRA and $15,500 (or 20% of annual compensation, whichever is less) for a 401(k). There are penalties for withdrawals before age 59½, as well as rules that dictate when you must begin withdrawing money.

Millennium Trust allows your entire account balance to be invested in futures, less $500. The $500 "deposit" is not eligible at any time to be invested in futures. This includes funds used to open the account and all subsequent deposits, including additional contributions, rollovers and transfers.

You must first rollover your 401(k) into a traditional IRA. Once you've done this, you may convert your traditional IRA to a ROTH IRA. The rollover from a 401(k) into a ROTH IRA usually triggers tax-consequences since the taxation of ROTH IRA withdrawals is more liberal than 401(k) withdrawals..

A Roth 401(k) is a feature that allows participants to contribute to their retirement on an AFTER TAX basis. As long as the money remains in a plan for at least 5 years, the distribution (even the earnings!) will be TAX FREE.

of this time, the IRS has not finalized regulations about Roth 401(k) contributions. Therefore, distributions (including hardship distributions and loans) will not be able to be made from Roth 401(k) money until the final rules are issued. We expect these rules early in 2006. Of course, a participant would still have access to his account balance from other money sources.

No, it is not a new type of plan. Designated Roth contributions are a new type of contribution that can be accepted by new or existing 401(k) or 403(b) plans. This feature is permitted under a Code section added by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), effective for years beginning on or after January 1, 2006.

Yes, as long as the amount of your contributions does not exceed $4000. For example, if you were eligible to make a $2000 deductible contribution to a Traditional IRA, you can also make a $2000 non-deductible contribution to a Traditional or Roth IRA.

Anyone with earned income up to $95,000 for single filers, (phase out between $95,000 and $110,000) and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly, (phase out between $150,000 and $160,000) can contribute.

The contribution limits for both the Traditional and Roth IRA for 2006 and 2007 is $4,000 with a "catch up" contribution of $1,000 for those age 50 and over. There are several factors to determine the deductibility of Traditional IRA contributions and the eligibility of Roth IRA contributions based upon adjusted gross income and participation in other retirement plans.

Unlike the Traditional IRA, there is no 70 ½ age limit on making contributions. You simply need to have earned income equal to the amount you contribute, up to a maximum of $4000 ($8000 combined for spouses) per year. There are income thresholds that may reduce the amount you can contribute.

Deferrals cannot be withheld from compensation paid to employees after termination of employment unless the compensation is paid within 2 ½ months after the termination of employment and the compensation represents: Payments that the employee would have received if there had been no termination of employment (e.g., payment for hours actually worked prior to termination of employment or payment of commissions); OR Payment for accrued sick or vacation pay.

The maximum amount an employee can contribute to a 401(k) plan is determined annually. You may be allowed catch up contributions in addition to annual limit, if you are age 50 or older. Refer to "Elective Deferrals" in Publication 525,taxable and Nontaxable Income. The maximum amount applies to an employee's aggregate pre-tax contributions to a 401(k) plan and 403(b) plan. There are several different limits that apply to a 401(k) plan in addition to the overall contribution limit.

Roth 401(k) contributions are added to regular (tax deferred) 401(k) contributions in calculating the maximum that can be contributed to a plan. The maximum contribution (both Roth 401(k) AND regular 401(k) contributions) for 2007 is $15,500 plus up to an additional $5,000 if the participant attains age 50 during the plan year.

Roth 401(k) contributions are treated the same as regular 401(k) contributions for purposes of a regular or safe harbor match.

No. A 401(k) plan is not an IRA. However, the amount you contributed is not included as income in box 1 of your W-2 form so you don't pay tax on it in the year you make the contribution. For more information, refer to Tax Topic 424, 401(k) Plans, Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income, or Publication 560, Retirement Plans for Small Business.

Yes, you can. In fact, this is what most private lenders do. You can do this as long as you are in control of that 401(k) or IRA; it must be self-directed. If you are not happy with what your investments in IRA or 401(k), you can roll that over into self directed IRA. This is not a taxable distribution, usually they cost about $55, and it is very simple to do.

IRA can be rolled over into a qualified retirement plan, assuming the qualified retirement plan has language permitting such rollovers.

If the SEP participant’s modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) for 2007 is under $52,000 (single filer) or under $83,000 (married, joint filer), then a full deduction for a traditional IRA contribution is also permitted. The amount that may be deducted is phased out over the next $10,000 in income.

No, your stocks can be transferred “in-kind,” which means that they will be transferred as is to your new plan. For accounting or audit purposes, you will want to keep track of the in-kind market value at the point of your rollover.

No, designated Roth contributions are treated the same as pre-tax elective contributions when performing annual nondiscrimination testing. Yes, a plan can provide that the highly compensated employee (HCE), as defined in section 414(q), with elective contributions for a year that include both pre-tax elective contributions and designated Roth contributions may elect whether excess contributions are to be attributed to pre-tax elective contributions or designated Roth contributions.

No. Employer sponsored 401(k) plans must offer Elective Deferrals as an available option to participants in order to allow for Roth 401(k) contributions.