What the conversation must establish
Evaluate IRA rollover advice by comparing plan features, costs, services, conflicts and alternatives before moving retirement money.
Take these prompts into the meeting
- List every feasible destination
- Capture plan fees and features
- Calculate destination costs
- Identify adviser compensation
- Document why the change helps
- Review tax and protection differences
Keep all available paths on the table
Availability depends on the plan and your circumstances, but the analysis should not begin and end with an IRA. Record current plan investment choices, administrative costs, withdrawal rules, services and protections. Ask whether the receiving plan accepts rollovers and whether a distribution would create tax consequences. Next step: Find service, fee and conflict disclosures.
Expose the financial incentive
Ask how the professional and firm are paid if assets move and how they are paid if assets stay. A percentage fee on a new IRA can create recurring revenue that did not exist in the plan. Read Form CRS and relevant disclosures, then request total first-year and ongoing costs for each feasible path. Next step: Compare recurring rollover-related costs.
Demand a person-specific comparison
Useful reasoning considers account size, age, employment, loan or withdrawal needs, available investments, service needs and the destination account. Generic statements about control or choice are not enough. Keep the written comparison with account-opening records. Next step: Confirm who will hold the assets.
Turn an answer into evidence
Sam's former plan costs 0.18% and offers broad index funds. An adviser recommends a managed IRA costing 1% plus fund expenses because it offers more choices. Sam asks which missing choice solves a stated need and requests the added annual cost in dollars. The recommendation must justify that difference.
How to judge the answers
| Subject | Relationship | Evidence or action |
|---|---|---|
| Core answer | should establish | Evaluate IRA rollover advice by comparing plan features, costs, services, conflicts and alternatives before moving retirement money. |
| Authority and fit | is supported by | List every feasible destination |
| Quality of explanation | is tested with | Capture plan fees and features |
| Follow-through | should include | Calculate destination costs |
Follow-up questions
Is an IRA more flexible than a workplace plan?
It may offer different investments and services, but flexibility is only one factor. Costs, plan rules, protections and the actual need for more choices matter.
Should I sign transfer forms during the first meeting?
There is rarely a reason to skip the comparison. Verify the professional, review the written rationale and understand the receiving account before authorizing movement.
Leave with a usable record
- List every feasible destination
- Capture plan fees and features
- Calculate destination costs
- Identify adviser compensation
Primary sources
This page is general education, not individual financial, investment, insurance, mortgage, legal or tax advice.