If you're an American living outside the United States, your 401(k) and IRA don't disappear. But the firms willing to look after them often do.
Many US financial institutions restrict or close accounts for non-US residents. Most local advisers in your new country don't hold the US licences needed to manage US retirement accounts. So you fall through the gap.
We close that gap. We manage 401(k) rollovers and IRAs for US expats in any country, with advisers based inside the US who understand the rules on both sides.
Your 401(k) can usually stay with your former employer and keep growing tax-deferred. But the fund menu is often narrow, nobody reviews it, and the provider may restrict the account once it sees a foreign address.
Most expats have two or three old workplace plans. A direct rollover into a single IRA, held at a major US custodian that accepts clients in your country, gives you more investment choice, one statement and one strategy. A direct rollover doesn't trigger tax.
Moving the money into a local product, or cashing out to make the problem go away, usually costs far more than the restriction itself.
We move your accounts to a major US custodian that accepts clients where you live, managed by a US-registered adviser who knows you're abroad. Americans in the UK, most of Europe, the Gulf, and much of Asia and Latin America can usually be served this way. A few countries are excluded, and we'll tell you straight away if yours is one of them.
Narrow fund menus, and no one reviewing them.
Withdrawals before age 59. generally carry a 10% penalty on top of income tax, and federal tax is also withheld at a foreign address. That can easily cost a third of the balance.
Most non-US mutual funds and ETFs are PFICs to the IRS, with punitive tax treatment and painful reporting.
Your IRA is in dollars and your spending isn't. Exchange rates can move your real income by 10–20% with no change in the investments.
Most advisers outside the US aren't licensed to advise on US retirement accounts.
Yes. The process is the same wherever you live. In a direct rollover the money goes straight to the IRA custodian, so nothing is withheld and there's no penalty. We handle the paperwork and coordination.
Usually, yes. Federal tax is withheld at source, typically 10% on IRA withdrawals and 20% on payments straight out of a 401(k). US citizens generally can't opt out of it at a foreign address. You may get some or all of it back through your US return and foreign tax credits, but you have to wait for it.
To a 401(k), generally only if you work for a US employer that offers the plan. To an IRA, you need earned income that's taxable in the US. If the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion removes all your foreign earnings, you may have nothing left that counts. Using foreign tax credits instead can keep you eligible.
Rolling a pre-tax 401(k) into a Traditional IRA is tax-free at the time; you pay tax when you withdraw. Converting to a Roth IRA is taxed in the year you convert, but future growth and qualified withdrawals are tax-free.
