I did this when leaving my first to my 2nd job. I don't know about rolling it without leaving the job though.
In my case I was able to roll it to a Roth IRA with no problems except the tax penalty.

 

Crap. Another Bengals fan? Were you as disheartened as I was this year?

The DAL B fund is 9% of your pay and is put in regardless of your contribution.

The 401k is 2%. If you put in 15%, you effectively are putting in 26% of your pay each year. If you have at least 20+ years with the company, this could build into a sizeable amount.

 

For what it is worth, there is a great site and books by a man named Dave Ramsey. daveramsey.com He talks about the history of the stock market and how it has never lost any money over any 10 yr period. I believe it averaged 10%. Dave Ramsey has changed my life. I have seen other pilots live the high life with boats and homes only to get killed by paycuts and job cuts.

 

So what are you saying I should wait to finance that yacht and mansion I'm looking at right now ....What about my personal G5? Do I have to wait on that too?

 

Yeah you may want to wait on that. I have a buddy at NWA, 18 yrs A330 FO for sched. He took a 50% cut, now he is having trouble making ends meet. He is very dumb with his money, leases a BMW and lives in a 4000 sq. foot house even though he is single, go figure.

 

A and B funds are a fun game to play.


Also you want to know who holds your A/B fund. As in Americans case where it is independently held and not by the company. Many times when you retire your investment is linked to the company coffers for eternity.

Then the fund holders of the investments companies many time give you uncheerful options to invest your money into.

As bad as the loss of pensions were to the field at least we seem to have more investment control these days.

 

Its probably not wise to have a "day-trader" strategy with your 401K, but you do still have to pay attention to the market. I pull everything back into my Money Market and sit on the sidelines at least a couple of times per year. Fortunately I was collecting my mere 4% interest while the rest of the market tumbled during this last cycle.

As for rollovers; depending on how long and how much you have been invested in your 401K will determine the amount you are able to rollover into an IRA or other approved retirement vehicle. Just don't touch your restricted cash because you will be penalized and taxed.

Another questionable strategy is the 401K loan. You may borrow up to $50K or 50% of your 401K and pay it back over a 5 year schedule. You are essentially borrowing from yourself and paying yourself back at around 4.8% interest. I would definately not do this after a big down cycle like the one we are in.

 

Questionable is a polite way to put it! Taking a loan from a 401K really hurts compound growth of the remaining funds and diminishes cash flow for future contributions. In a down market most stocks are on sale so look for solid business plans and stockup. Dollar cost averaging still works.

 

With a very few exceptions, none of the major airlines have "A" funds anymore. I think if you look around the corporate world outside of aviation you'll find the same trend happening. Most companies are heading toward the 401K plan only.

 

I take exception to that. When I got divorced, instead of spliting the 401K in half, I took a loan out for 50% of the balance and paid it off after 5 years. Now I still have my whole 401K.