Rolling over a 401(k) or similar employer-sponsored plan often involves contacting your plan custodian to request the rollover over the phone or online. If you've been given a rollover form, we can review and prefill the paperwork for you before it's submitted to your plan administrator.

Feel free to use our rollover wizard to upload your paperwork to Wealthsimple, or follow the legend below to complete the process on your own.

Common fields found on rollover documents

Account Number: Your plan number or account number is the unique identifier for your employer-sponsored account. Not all plans use account numbers, but if your rollover paperwork asks you for yours, you can typically find it on any of your account statements or on your plan's online portal.

Type Distribution: Direct Rollover to an IRA

You can rollover 401k(s) and similar employer-sponsored accounts directly into a Wealthsimple IRA account so long as your employer is no longer making contributions to the plan. Choosing "Direct Rollover" as the distribution type will move the assets over as a non-taxable rollover.

Pre-tax vs Roth Contributions

If your retirement plan asks you to specify where pre-tax and Roth contributions should go, moving pretax dollars to a Traditional IRA and Roth contributions to a Roth IRA will ensure that you aren't taxed on your rollover. You can open both IRA types on the Add Account Page.

Receiving IRA Account Number

Once you've opened a Wealthsimple IRA, you can obtain your account number(s) from your Documents Page. If required, your account title is "your name" + "your account type" (example. Bill Smith Traditional IRA).

Method of Delivery: Rollovers can typically be transferred via check or wire. If they support both, we recommend wire, as it's the faster option. Both check and wire instructions can be obtained by using our rollover wizard.

Receiving Institution Details

Your rollover should be made payable to our brokerage Apex Clearing for the benefit of (FBO) your account. (Or click here for wire instructions)

Sample fields

Institution Name: Apex Clearing

Make check payable to: Apex Clearing FBO John Smith

Institution Address:

Apex Clearing Corporation
c/o Banking
350 N St Paul Street, Ste 1300
Dallas, TX 75201

Contact Name: Ena Singh, Asset Transfer Department

Contact Phone Number: 1(855)782-3559

 

Reason for Distribution: Separation of Service

For most plans, funds can only be distributed once you're no longer an active employee at the sponsoring firm. If you're still an active employee, contact your employer to determine whether funds from the account can be rolled over. If you're no longer an employee of the sponsoring company, select "Separation of Service" or "Termination" as the reason for the distribution request.

Transaction Type: Total Distribution

If your plan supports partial transfers, you'll have the option to select a partial amount or opt to rollover the full balance of your account.

Tax Withholding: Do not withhold any taxes

Thankfully, direct Rollovers aren't taxable. Often the tax withholding section of your paperwork can be left blank. If the form doesn't indicate whether these sections can be left blank, opt for no taxes withheld from your rollover.

My rollover paperwork requires a brokerage signature, medallion signature guarantee, or letter of acceptance

Our rollover specialists can provide you with any brokerage approvals required for your rollover paperwork. Upload your paperwork to your account using our rollover wizard.

Need help?

If you require any further assistance with your rollover, our specialists would be happy to help you complete the process over the phone. Feel free to book a call with one of our rollover specialists or send us a request.