401k/403b/ROTH IRA Rollovers

[lindy_zag]

Hi - I'm realizing I should clean up my investments a little bit (or maybe I don't need to! That would be a great answer but is probably not the case) and am not sure of the best way to do that.

I currently have four investment accounts:
- ROTH IRA through Betterment with about $48k
- 401k at Fidelity through a previous employer with about $17k
- 403b at Mutual of America through a previous employer with about $20k
- Brand new 403b at Vanguard through current employer with about $1k

I also have an HSA with about $5k but I've been better at actually updating that account so that I only have the one!

My understanding is that I basically have two options: Roll both previous employer accounts into the Vanguard account, or roll the two previous employer accounts into the ROTH. Is there some other option I'm missing? How important is it that I get this done? Which option is best? Help?

[EvenSteven]

Roll both previous employer accounts into the Vanguard account

You can do this. Or you can roll over either account individually to your new 403b. Whether you can roll over existing pre-tax accounts into your new 403b will depend on the specific rules of your new plan, but most plans allow for it.

roll the two previous employer accounts into the ROTH

It sounds like your previous 401k and 403b were both pre-tax, and not Roth accounts. If this is the case you would pay tax at your marginal rate on the amount rolled over to your Roth.

Is there some other option I'm missing?

There are 2 other options.

1) Roll them over to a traditional IRA. If you do this there will be no taxes due and they will stay as pre-tax accounts.

2) Do nothing. If the fees and fund options for those previous accounts are as low as they are for your new 403b or traditional IRA, there is no need to do anything.

[terran]

I would roll both the old employer plans into the new 403(b). The only reason not to do this is if the new plan had poor investment options, but that's highly unlikely since it's Vanguard.