Pension Question...
 

When I joined my current company, there was a Pension Plan for some employees. About 3 years ago, the company halted all pension contributions, so the money is sitting there earning nominal interest. Being fully vested, am I able to roll that money into a qualified retirement plan without incurring tax or access penalties of any kind? Or, must it sit where it is until retirement?

Yes, you should be able to.

Typically, there's no penalty for rolling over to a qualified plan; you only incur penalties (taxes) when you dip into the money.

Wouldn't the company have to allow you access to the pension funds? I would think that until you actually retire, those funds don't "belong" to you.

Mark...turns out you're mostly right. I called HR and they said I can only have access to the money for rollover once I've left the company (or retired). As an active employee, it must stay where it is. Sounds like incentive to leave the company!

You can rollover 401K assets into another qualified plan without penalty; I'm not sure you can rollover pension assets as they are a very different animal.

I would clarify with HR. I think you only get access to pension assets once you've reached retirement age.

YMMV

If it is a true defined benefit pension plan, you generally cannot touch it until you qualify for distributions under the plan (ie, retirement).

The plan summary description will state your options. Most allow rollover only once you leave the company and sum are frozen assets that you can't touch at all, only taking annuity distributions once you meet retirement conditions.