Thread regarding Bank of New York Mellon Corp. layoffs

My dealings with Voya have been anything BUT easy. They can't answer easy questions such as the cost basis of my company stock, whether selling it is FIFO, LIFO etc. Rule 55 disbursements were pretty much a lump sum or quarterly installments from 1 year to something like 10 years.
Your best option is probably to roll it to an IRA then take distributions or convert to a Roth based on your tax situation. Sounds like you really need a financial planner/advisor.

@dh @dh+1k2v37npz
Keep going you pretentious self serving je-rk.
You are an investment for people as an example of what not to be in life.

@a5 you have to pay taxes on income and your earnings from 401k is considered income. The tax break is at the front end, when you contribute. Meaning you didn't pay taxes on your contributions. Taxes and penalties are two different things.

@dd Life does not end at 60 and at 80 you can still thank your younger self for providing for you in your sunset years. Thinking forward and having empathy toward your older future self is a gift that not all people have. Taking actions today to prepare for your inevitable older financial needs is a necessity. But you can definitely ignore me and do you. Just don’t say to your future self that you never made enough or had opportunities to invest but always had to liquidate and spend on current needs and just hope the future somehow takes care of itself.

@d9 @d9+1k2v37npz
Well la dee daa and goodie woodie shouldee couldee for you. This is useless garbage to the original poster who is 60 and doesnt help anyone but you feel good about yourself. Why don’t you take some of that money and go get some narcissism and exhibitionist counseling?
Je-k.

transfer to an IRA

@d5 Everyone is free to do what they like with their retirement fund but for those reading who might be tempted to follow that same “cash out” path let me provide another example to consider. Back in my early 30’s I left a company and had $6,000 (give or take) in my account and I was very tempted to cash out and use it for a much needed new couch and to treat myself to some spa days and a local vacation. But instead I rolled it over to an E*trade account and bought Microsoft and reinvested the dividends and then pretty much left it alone. That $6,000 is now over $80,000 (some 20 years later). At the time low cost index funds or ETFs were not a thing and frankly I picked Microsoft because every job at the time asked if you had experience with word, excel, power point etc. Basically did not know much and got a bit lucky. But if I had cashed out I would have had less than $6,000 after fees/taxes and that couch would be long gone and those treats a distant memory. While today I can look at that rollover account and look forward to spending that Microsoft money on a dream trip and thank my younger self for treating my older self due to that decision.

I left BNY last summer and cashed out. Didn’t have much in there, like 8k. I had to wait 30 days after my last day of work at BNY. Then contacted Voya and was able to cash out. 20% fees were taken. Took less than a week to have it in my bank account after the 30 day period

I can’t believe this… It’s such a horrible decision.. The only way to make a worse move is to move your money into Fischer Investments.

Call Voya, request a rollover 401K distribution withdrawal. Ask your destination brokerage (Schwab, Fidelity, etc how to endorse the check to ensure than is a pretax rollover IRA.

Good luck. VOYA can be really incompetent so double check everything. Remember that VOYA was called ING until they were caught stealing their customers’ funds

A former colleague did what you are going to do: withdrawal the entirety of his 401K. He was 61 and had a 401K of 37000. He received 28000.

So, if you are cool with that much of a reduction, go for it.

@OP you are 60. And you seem to have made the decision to "cash out". Whatever your personal reasons that led to that is your unique condition.

Please work out your taxes before "cashing out". Along with any severance - it will put you in higher tax bracket. Try to avoid giving your hard-earned money to Uncle Sam.

Try these two-step process

1. Get 100% control with a friendly custodian. Voya is a nightmare. No local office and their reps are rude even when you are rolling funds from other firms into Voya

Call Fidelity (for example or any preferred firm who has a local office where you can walk into and meet a real person) or Schwab. Schwab is aggressive
They will open a Roll-over IRA and chase Voya to move the funds over. If you have BNY specific funds they will liquidate and move it as cash. They will handle the VOYA lazy employees. They will ensure that no back up withholding or any tax penalty by mistake. They will maintain the tax-deferred status
Now you have 100% control and a firm that works with you. Even has a local office. And then you can start withdrawing by making some tax avoidance.

1. Do your math with taxes and brackets - including state.
   The Roll-over IRA is much more easily accessible like your checking account. This is not doable with Voya. And you can slowly, based on tax and needs, withdraw

Do not waste money with Financial Advisors. Even if you are not savvy with internet, just use chatGPT or even copilot on Windows and give your use case and it will give you better advice with zero cost and even a printable plan of action

@aa Good point, however one small clarification. The 59 1/2 rule applies universally to all 401(k) plans. The rule of 55 has to be granted by your corporate plan. So if relying on that please double check with the plan administrator that it is an option for you.

Rule of 55 applies no 10% penalty if you leave or lose your job after the age of 55. You’ll still have to pay regular taxes on the withdrawal though.

https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-exceptions-to-tax-on-early-distributions

https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/retiring-early-5-key-points-about-rule-55

@a5 The 401(k) is a tax deferred account. If older than 59 1/2 you will not incur the 10% early withdrawal penalty but you will have to pay those deferred taxes at withdrawal. So “cashing out” is not a smart idea - in fact that is a very expensive and foolish idea. You need a plan for how best to spend down your tax deferred accounts when retired.

If by “cashing out” you really mean you no longer want to deal with Voya the 401(k) administrator of our plan and would prefer to move to another brokerage with more investment options then you need to look at rollovers for your account. But you really need to first educate yourself before making any moves since a mistake could be very costly.

@a3 If the person is 60 then they are past the age of 59 and a half: the age you have to be NOT to be penalized for early withdrawal. So why would they get a tax fee?

OP,
You need to stop and and get yourself a wealth mgmt advisor if you dont have one already- and you should have. You do NOT want to have a check made out to you direct or have that check in your name. Or else you will likely be very very sorry at tax time. What you need is a roll over tax free with a wealth mgmt firm that can handle it as a trustee and distribute your money to you properly.
Oh and congrats on being gone from BNY. Did you get severence? Why can’t you use that until get settled?

Yep - you need a financial counselor for sure.
BNYMellon is my recommendation.

Www.bnymellon401k.com or 1-877-269-8758.