Answer

Generally, a rollover is a tax-free distribution to you of cash or other assets from one retirement plan that you contribute to another retirement plan. The contribution to the second retirement plan is called a "rollover contribution."

You can roll over amounts from the following plans into a traditional IRA:

• A traditional IRA,

• An employer's qualified retirement plan for its employees,

• A deferred compensation plan of a state or local government (section 457 plan), or

• A tax-sheltered annuity plan (section 403 plan).

In most situation - union labor pensions are qualified retirement plans and thus may be rolled over to the IRA.

However - you need either to look into your plan documents or verify with your plan administrator that your union labor pension is indeed a qualified retirement plan.

 

Here is the IRS definition - A qualified employee plan is an employer's stock bonus, pension, or profit-sharing plan that is for the exclusive benefit of employees or their beneficiaries and that meets Internal Revenue Code requirements. It qualifies for special tax benefits, such as tax deferral for employer contributions and capital gain treatment or the 10-year tax option for lump-sum distributions (if participants qualify).

To determine whether your plan is a qualified plan, check with your employer or the plan administrator.

 

Let me know if you need any help.

 

Edited by Lev on 10/19/2009 at 10:47 PM