How to Roll Over Your 403(b) to a New Employer

To roll over a 403(b) to a new employer, confirm the new plan accepts incoming rollovers, request a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer from your old plan, and have the check or wire sent straight to the new plan’s custodian so nothing is withheld and the full balance keeps growing tax-deferred. Federal law lets you move pre-tax 403(b) money into a 401(k), another 403(b), a 403(a) annuity, a governmental 457(b), or a traditional IRA, but the receiving plan’s own document controls whether it will actually take the money.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 402 – Taxability of Beneficiary of Employees Trust

First, Confirm the New Plan Will Accept It

Federal law does not require an employer plan to take incoming rollovers. The receiving plan’s document has to explicitly allow it.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 401 – Qualified Pension, Profit-Sharing, and Stock Bonus Plans Call the new plan’s administrator before you fill out a single form and ask two questions: does the plan accept rollovers from a 403(b), and if you have Roth 403(b) money, does the plan have a designated Roth account that can receive it?

Roth 403(b) funds have narrower options. They can only move into another designated Roth account in an employer plan or into a Roth IRA — pre-tax destinations are off-limits.3IRS.gov. Rollover Chart

Choose a Direct Rollover, Not an Indirect One

In a direct rollover, your old plan sends the money straight to the new plan. You never take possession. Nothing is withheld, and no tax is owed on the transfer.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 403 – Taxation of Employee Annuities On the distribution form you check the direct rollover box and give the new plan’s account details.

An indirect rollover works differently and costs you money up front. The old plan cuts a check to you personally, but first it must withhold 20% for federal income tax.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3405 – Special Rules for Pensions, Annuities, and Certain Other Deferred Income You then have 60 calendar days to deposit the full original balance into the new plan or an IRA.6Internal Revenue Service. Rollovers of Retirement Plan and IRA Distributions That “full original balance” phrase is where people get caught: you have to replace the withheld 20% from your own pocket to make the rollover whole. Deposit less, and the IRS treats the shortfall as a taxable distribution. If you are under 59½, the shortfall also gets hit with a 10% early withdrawal penalty.7Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Exceptions to Tax on Early Distributions You get the withholding back as a credit when you file, but only if you actually completed a full rollover in time.

There is no reason to accept those risks when a direct rollover is available. Choose the direct route.

When You Are Allowed to Take the Distribution

Most 403(b) plans require you to separate from service — resignation, termination, or retirement — before you can take a distribution and roll it over. Some plans allow in-service distributions at age 59½, but that varies by plan.8Internal Revenue Service. IRC 403(b) Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plans Ask your current plan administrator to confirm you qualify before you submit anything.

If you have reached age 73, the portion of any distribution that satisfies your required minimum distribution for the year cannot be rolled over.9Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) The IRS excludes RMDs from the definition of an eligible rollover distribution.6Internal Revenue Service. Rollovers of Retirement Plan and IRA Distributions Take the RMD amount as taxable income first, then roll over the rest. If you are still working for the employer sponsoring the 403(b) and the plan permits it, RMDs can be delayed until you actually retire.

If You Have an Outstanding 403(b) Loan

Leaving your job with a loan outstanding usually triggers a plan loan offset: the plan reduces your account balance by the unpaid loan amount, and the IRS treats that reduction as a real distribution.10eCFR. 26 CFR 1.72(p)-1 – Loans Treated as Distributions You can still roll that amount over, but you have to come up with the cash yourself and deposit it into the new plan or an IRA.

The deadline depends on why the offset happened. If it qualifies as a “qualified plan loan offset amount” — meaning you left your job or the plan terminated — you have until your tax filing deadline for that year, including extensions, to complete the rollover.11Internal Revenue Service. Plan Loan Offsets An offset in 2026 with an extension filed gives you until October 15, 2027. Non-qualifying offsets fall back to the standard 60-day window.12eCFR. 26 CFR 1.402(c)-2 – Eligible Rollover Distributions Anything you don’t roll over is taxable, plus the 10% penalty if you are under 59½.

Roth and After-Tax Money

Roth 403(b) balances move only into another designated Roth employer account or a Roth IRA, and the nontaxable portion (your contributions and any qualified earnings) has to move by direct trustee-to-trustee transfer.3IRS.gov. Rollover Chart

One trap worth knowing about: the five-year holding period for tax-free qualified Roth distributions does not follow the money. The new plan starts its own clock on the first day of the year you begin making Roth contributions to it. Years accrued in the old plan don’t count.13Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plans FAQs on Designated Roth Accounts The same is true of rolling Roth 403(b) money into a Roth IRA.

Some 403(b) accounts also contain after-tax contributions that are neither pre-tax nor designated Roth. You cannot pull out only the after-tax portion; each partial distribution carries a proportional share of both types of money. But you can split a single distribution: pre-tax dollars go to a traditional IRA or the new employer’s plan, and after-tax dollars go to a Roth IRA.14Internal Revenue Service. Rollovers of After-Tax Contributions in Retirement Plans That move gets the after-tax money into a Roth account without any additional tax, because tax was already paid on those contributions.

Converting pre-tax 403(b) money into a Roth account inside the new plan is a different transaction — an in-plan Roth conversion — and the converted amount is included in your taxable income for the year.3IRS.gov. Rollover Chart

The Steps

Once both plans are cleared and you’ve chosen a direct rollover:

  • Pull together your current 403(b) account number, the new plan’s name and plan ID number, and the mailing address for the new plan’s custodian or third-party administrator.
  • Download the distribution request form (sometimes called a rollover out form) from your old plan’s participant portal, and get a rollover contribution form from the new plan so the incoming assets get coded correctly.
  • On the distribution form, enter the amount or percentage to transfer, indicate whether the funds are pre-tax, Roth, or after-tax, and check the direct rollover option.
  • If the money moves by check rather than wire, verify the payee line reads something like “[Custodian Name] FBO [Your Name], Account #[Number].” Never let a check be made payable to you personally.
  • Submit the forms through the old plan’s portal or by certified mail. Keep confirmation numbers, tracking receipts, and screenshots.

If the old plan mails the check to you rather than the new custodian, forward it promptly. Some providers accept digital check uploads through their apps.

Your old plan administrator has to send you a written notice explaining your rollover rights (the 402(f) notice) at least 30 days before the distribution. You can waive the waiting period on the distribution form.

Timeline and What Shows Up on Your Taxes

A direct rollover typically takes two to four weeks from submission. Watch your old account for a zero balance and a distribution entry, and expect a confirmation from the new plan when the funds land and get invested.

For the tax year the rollover happened, your old plan will issue IRS Form 1099-R. A direct rollover carries distribution Code G in Box 7 and shows zero as the taxable amount in Box 2a.15Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498 You still report the rollover on your federal return, but Code G tells the IRS the transfer wasn’t taxable. If you took the indirect route, the 1099-R shows the full distribution and the 20% withholding, and you report the rollover and claim the withholding as a credit.

Keep the final statements from both accounts, the rollover forms, and the 1099-R with your tax records. If the IRS ever asks whether a distribution was properly rolled over, those documents are your proof.