NFL 401K Plan – Rollovers Not Allowed?
My boyfriend used to play in the NFL and still has his 401K with them. He wants to rollover the funds into an IRA, so he has more control over fund choice, etc. I have talked to them multiple times, and apparently they don’t allow any movement of money at all until the age of 45. I thought ERISA requires organizations to allow 401K rollovers after an employee leaves? Does anyone know anything further about the legal issues surrounding this?
i do not know
It could be true depending on how the plan is structured. Read the FAQ section here:
http://www. 401k. org
Your boyfriend needs to read the plan provisions for his specific plan.
Each team in the NFL maintains their own 401k plan but it’s typically for employees fo the team. The players are union negotiated employees or contracted employees and thus are not allowed to participate in any of the respective teams plans. The union does offer a 401k plan but there are only 94 people participating in the plan. doubtful that your boyfriend actually deferred any of his money into this plan. More likely he was a particpant in one of the unions three other retirement plans. Those plans fall under the category of defined benefit plans and money purchase plans both of which can prevent distributions until a specific age rather than allow a distribution at termination of employment.
sorry, your boyfriend is out of luck. given the market returns over the last 6 months though I’d have to say he’s better off leaving the money where it is anyways.