“When leaving a job, you could withdraw your retirement-plan assets—paying withdrawal fees if applicable—and spend the money (not usually a smart retirement strategy). Or you could simply leave the assets in the old plan. Or, you could transfer them into the plan at the new job, assuming transfers are allowed. Or you could roll the assets into an individual retirement account” according to David Blanchett of Morningstar. The most important factors to consider with a rollover:
Fees
Investment Options
Quality and scope of services provided
For more details you can access Blanchett’s white paper: “A Framework for Implementing the DOL’s New Fiduciary Rule for IRA Rollovers”
In this new research, David Blanchett, Morningstar’s head of retirement research, discusses the factors that can help demonstrate a rollover proposal is in your clients’ best interest.
http://mscomm.morningstar.com/scorecardmethod/?adid=ADV_ADV_WSJ_BLOGhttp://mscomm.morningstar.com/scorecardmethod/?adid=ADV_ADV_WSJ_BLOG
Source: Financial Planning for Women