Your 401(k) followed you out the door. Now what?
Changing jobs, retiring, or just want more control? The rollover decision is one of the most consequential of your retirement — and it’s often irreversible. We evaluate all four options as fiduciaries — including the case for leaving it exactly where it is — so your savings end up positioned for growth, protection, and tax efficiency.
The checkup is a real conversation with a Houston advisor — not a screening call, not a sales script. You’ll hear which part of your plan needs attention first, and if we’re not the right firm for you, we’ll tell you that on the call.
Why 401(k) rollover planning matters.
A 401(k) rollover moves retirement savings from an employer plan into an IRA or a new employer’s plan — and done as fiduciaries, the analysis starts with whether to move it at all. Millions of accounts get left behind at former employers: parked in yesterday’s allocation, paying yesterday’s fees, invisible to whoever is planning your income. Unmanaged doesn’t mean safe. It means decisions are being made by default instead of by design.
The rollover itself isn’t automatically the answer, either. Done in the wrong order — company stock rolled before an NUA review, an indirect rollover past its 60-day window — it creates the very tax bill it was supposed to avoid. The sequence is the whole game.
A fiduciary process, not a rollover pitch.
As fiduciaries, we put your interest first — no hidden agendas, no product quotas. The analysis comes before the recommendation, and sometimes the recommendation is to stay put.
The Family Wealth CircleTM
One family. Four strategies. One coordinated plan.
A rollover touches three quadrants at once: the account funds your Income, its allocation is your Growth, and the order of moves decides the Tax bill. That’s why we plan it inside the Circle — not as a standalone transaction.
Explore the Family Wealth Circle™ framework →Common questions about 401(k) rollovers
If yours isn’t here, ask it on the 15-minute call — we’d rather answer it early than late.
Four: leave it in the old plan, roll it to an IRA, roll it into a new employer’s plan, or cash out. Each carries different fees, investment menus, tax consequences, and creditor protections. We compare all four before anything moves — and if staying put wins, that’s the recommendation.
A direct rollover to a traditional IRA generally isn’t — the money moves custodian to custodian and stays tax-deferred. The trouble comes from indirect rollovers, the 60-day deadline, and employer stock handled out of order. Executed correctly, there’s no tax bill; executed casually, there can be a large one.
It changes everything about the order of operations. Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA) treatment can tax the stock’s growth at capital-gains rates instead of ordinary income — sometimes a six-figure difference — but only if it’s evaluated before the rollover. It’s the first thing we check — especially for energy professionals, where company stock concentration is common.
Often the years right after leaving work are the lowest-bracket years of your life — a natural conversion window before Social Security and RMDs raise your income. Whether and how much to convert depends on your bracket, IRMAA thresholds, and your estate intentions, which is why it’s planned, not guessed.
No. Your accounts stay exactly where they are while we talk. The analysis is yours either way, and you decide what happens next on your own timeline.
Take control of your retirement. Make an Impact!
Fifteen minutes with a fiduciary advisor — including an honest look at whether your 401(k) should move at all.