Originally Posted by
HighFlight
Also, when leaving a company, I think it is better to convert to a private fund vs. rolling over into the new company's fund, because your private fund is usable prior to retirement, whereas a company fund cannot be used without major hassles and penalties. You take away the employer/fund manager control when you convert to a private investment vehicle.
I learned something today. I've always moved mine outside of former employers for additional fund choices, I had never considered the pre-retirement distribution angle. Evidently that's a function of plan design (meaning the employer can choose to let you make "in-service" withdrawls (after 59.5 but before you actually retire) ) I have no idea which plan design is more common but there's another good reason not to roll directly from old employer to new employer.