"Someone Else" > wrote in message
...
> Julie Bove wrote:
>>
>> "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.
>>
> You clearly misunderstood them.

No. After I called, I was told that the fund didn't used to be that way but
at some point, it changed. Just like our pension plan changed. Used to be
you could opt for a lesser sum upon retirement. But everyone was going for
that because the company wasn't doing well. So they changed that and we
couldn't get it until we reached age 55. We still get more if we wait
longer.

I was the only person in my store of about 150 employees who had this
particular plan. Which is likely why I was not notified of the change. But
I did specifically ask about it when I retired just to make certain that I
could in fact cash out and that I didn't have to roll it over. The
personnel manager even made a call to someone while I was sitting there and
she was told that it was merely a savings plan and the money was mine to do
with as I pleased. Obviously not. It could have been worse. I put very
little in there so there was only about $2,000 that I had when I left.