Vanguard is selling off their Individual 401(k), Multi-SEP, and SIMPLE IRA Plans to a company called Ascensus. The companies were always linked, and now these accounts are fully migrating to Ascensus.
A lot of people prefer using the larger companies for their accounts. And many people signed up with Vanguard to have all of their balances in one login which will no longer be the case once the sale is complete.
Also worth noting that a lot of people had their 401k’s free of any fees with Vanguard due to their balance holdings making them eligible for fee waivers. Ascensus will charge $20 per Vanguard fund per year.
A reader pointed out we never posted about this yet. The change is in the process of being fully implemented in the coming days, and so I thought it worth a quick post. Personally I’d switch over to Fidelity (for traditional 401k) or Schwab (for those with Roth 401k) to avoid the Ascensus fees.
Moved the individual 401k to Fidelity based on this news, and the experience has been solid so far. Beware Ascensus, as their fees, based on your plan type, will be far more than just the $20/fund.
$20 per participant and $20 per fund for a solo 401k. If you have a Roth and Traditional, they still count as one account. I contacted them regarding this some time back.
I called Vanguard about this a few days ago, and they specifically said that traditional and Roth count as 2 separate accounts, so I’ll pay 2 fees for the same fund in both accounts.
I moved my i401k to Schwab as soon as I got the letter from Vanguard. The Schwab rep was super helpful on the phone and walked me through the whole process. Iirc I did have to fax the forms in which was a bit obnoxious but welcome to banks. Definitely disappointed in Vanguard for the rug pull; I’ve been a huge fan of theirs over the decades but that’s hard to maintain recently.
Transferred my solo 401k when I heard this news a couple months back. No issues transferring to Fidelity. They actually transferred assets in-kind, which is always nice.
Good luck getting a roll out from Vanguard…been an absolute headache and their customer service is now a joke.
You don’t need to talk to Vanguard about it. You just need to initiate the transfer from the receiving side.
+1 I handled it all through my Fidelity rep and they were the ones talking to Vanguard
Not per Fidelity – I wish Fidelity would just handle it. Fidelity wants a check or wire from the holding institution. I filled out the unclear form that Vanguard generates but they actually wanted one of the forms notarized. The termination form has to be printed and mailed into the previous employer so they can authorize the transfer/termination. Its literally insane and I’ve never had to jump through so many hoops before with other rollovers (not Vanguard)
This also isn’t an actual 401k….is a 401a and 403b
This is about solo 401k accounts. Proper 401k accounts are staying with Vanguard and they are no selling them. The process for those is very different.
I’m aware – I’m just bitching about how bad Vanguard is now
Anecdotal, but Vanguard rep was actually very smart and helpful for me when I called last week
delete
I migrated my company’s SIMPLE IRA to Fidelity. I let my displeasure be known to every Vanguard rep I spoke with during the transfer, and each of them seemed equally baffled by the corporate decision to boot such a loyal client base. The new fees are unconscionable. They at least should have grandfathered in the no-fee balance requirement. Ascensus is also charging a fee when you close accounts also – they are hitting you coming and going.
It was annoying babysitting my employees to make sure they all individually transfered their assets to Fidelity, but both Vanguard and Fidelity were extremely helpful throughout the process.
If anyone is considering T Rowe Price, my advice is to go straight to Fidelity. T Rowe Price has convoluted rules for setting up the SIMPLE IRA plan, and after 3 tries of actual paperwork being mailed in, I went to Fidelity and it was much smoother.
A former employer was set to move us from Vanguard to Empower. I read the Empower disclosures, all of thr new feews with the change of custodian, and transferred the funds out before Empowers account and transfer fees applied.
Check your statements. My 401k was transferred last year, and I never received a final statement that matched the company they transferred the funds. It was completely bizarre. Vanguard had no final statement. The funds didn’t match and I could never get a straight answer. It was a small amount and I gave up.
So many dummies in the comment. If you don’t understand don’t comment. And read a book 🙂
I must admit, I am incredibly surprised how clueless people are regarding the various types of 401k’s and simply reading this post. The comments are ones I would expect to see on Next Door from people who read two words and never go further. I would expect comments on DoC to be a little more informed considering most on here are churning bank accounts, etc. The post clearly states the types of accounts that are being moved away from Vanguard.
If you roll over and close the 401k, make sure to fill out form Form 5500-EZ. Steep penalties for not doing so
Is this for everyone or only if you roll over to individual 401k?
What if you simply roll over to IRA?
That’s for moving a *company’s plan* with all participants to another provider (or closing altogether) – including the whole self-employed plan. It’s NOT something for individuals participating/rolling over their 401k money.
Def applies to solo401k
.. that’s literally what I said?
only when it is over 250k right?
anything less does not require filing