I held a student job my campus that had me pay into a public employee retirement fund instead of social security. I recently left that job and now I'm wondering what I should do with the account. I believe I have 4 options:
1. Completely cash out. The total value is ~$1,600 and I get my contributions + 20% of what the school paid. I'd get ~$900 - taxes.
This could be the best option because I have a decent amount of student loan debt at 7.9% and I've been throwing as much money as I can this summer towards accrued interest. An extra $700-$800 would really accelerate this and I could start paying down principal in just another month or 2.
2. Rollover to an IRA. Defers taxes, but I'm probably in the lowest bracket I'll ever be in.
3. Rollover to my existing Roth IRA. Still have to pay taxes, but this would be nice bump. Currently contributing $100 a month.
4. Leave it there. Not touching it has the pro of keeping me vested. If I take any type of public sector position in the future, I'll already have 12 months of service/20%. It's a definite possibility I could do public sector work, but not a guarantee like if I were going to teach. I'd like working in my university's IT department for example. Unfortunately, a $5 monthly fee is charged since my balance is under $5,000 and I'm no longer contributing.
Using it as a loan payment is the best option according to the math, but I'd like to hear if anyone else has an opinion.