"jmcquown" > wrote in message
...
> On 2/19/2015 6:07 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>> I didn't *think* that what I had was a 401K. I even asked about it when
>> I retired. I was told that I didn't have to roll the money over so I
>> spent it on furniture and appliances when we moved to Cape Cod. But
>> when I filed my taxes, I learned that it was! I was penalized, and
>> ****ed. I called the people in charge and they told me that they had
>> changed the plan at some point.
>
> 401k's have been around for a long time. What you apparently had was not
> a Roth (taxes prepaid) IRA, but a traditional one. You can't just cash
> out without paying taxes on the money.

I have no clue what it was. I only put the money in after reading the
prospectus and talking to the person in charge of the plans. We had four to
choose from and they held a meeting with us all to explain these. I had
specifically asked and was told that it was not a 401K or an IRA and the
money could be taken at any time with no penalty.

But as with many things K Mart, at some point, they changed the plan and
didn't tell us. They did the same with our pension plan.