If you no longer work for the employer who sponsored your Guideline 401(k) account, you may be able to keep your 401(k) funds with Guideline in certain cases.
If you can and choose to keep your account, funds can be distributed at any time. However, no further 401(k) contributions can be made once you are no longer earning compensation from the sponsoring employer.
Are there costs to keeping my 401(k) account?
After termination, Guideline offers a 90-day grace period, which is free from account maintenance fees. Thereafter, we’ll deduct a $4 monthly fee from your account balance.
Additionally, you will continue to pay the annual account fee on assets under management. Your annual account fee will depend on the pricing plan chosen by your previous employer. These fees are automatically deducted from your account balance.
When deciding whether to keep your Guideline account open long term or transfer your funds to another retirement account, you should consider all associated fees, among other factors.
We encourage you to review our participant fees and compare them against the fees charged by other providers to help you determine whether keeping your Guideline account is the right choice for you.
Do I have other options for my 401(k) funds?
Aside from keeping your 401(k) with Guideline, there are several other options you may wish to consider:
When you may have to move your 401(k) funds
Some 401(k) plans have specific "forceout" provisions that require you to take your money out of the plan when you no longer work for the employer sponsoring the plan if your account balance is under a certain threshold, typically $1,000 to $5,000¹ (not including rolled over amounts).
If your account balance does not meet the minimum requirement outlined by your plan, you’ll receive notification 30 days prior to the force out with options on moving your funds. This can also occur if your former employer chooses to terminate the plan.
In these cases, you can choose to distribute your funds using any of the options listed in the section above.
If you do not make changes before the account the deadline, then we’ll automatically roll your account balance into a Guideline IRA. Once this account is established, you’ll have the opportunity to make changes to your investment options and continue contributing to your retirement.
Thinking about opening a Guideline IRA? Learn more here.
¹ While the law allows for a forceout level up to $7,000, Guideline only supports forceout provisions up to $5,000 at this time.