Bankrupcy Claim Paperwork

[FlyChicaga]

I just received some paperwork from the State of Indiana for the ATA Holdings bankrupcy filing, about a claim. Now I believe I need to file this claim with the state to retrieve my 401(k) investments for my year of service at Chicago Express, which is a sizable amount of money I'd say. But I'm not sure if that is required, since my money is being held through a retirement investment firm (Great West).

Basically what I am asking is, do I need to file a claim for this lump sum, or just the company match? Do I even need to file the claim? I was planning on rolling this money into my new 401(k) account.

I figured someone here might know better about this than I. Thanks!

-FC

 

[pireps]

I'm no expert, but here goes.

ATA doesn't owe you any money because you probably weren't vested in the company match. So forget about the claim form. The money you have contributed through payroll deduction is protected and yours, and you can roll over your Great West account into your new employer's 401(k) or your own personal IRA. Call your current provider on how to do that. Hope that helps!

 

[Gulfstream 200]

I just received some paperwork from the State of Indiana for the ATA Holdings bankrupcy filing, about a claim. Now I believe I need to file this claim with the state to retrieve my 401(k) investments for my year of service at Chicago Express, which is a sizable amount of money I'd say. But I'm not sure if that is required, since my money is being held through a retirement investment firm (Great West).

Basically what I am asking is, do I need to file a claim for this lump sum, or just the company match? Do I even need to file the claim? I was planning on rolling this money into my new 401(k) account.

I figured someone here might know better about this than I. Thanks!

-FC

How good is your new companys 401k?

Many really $uck....and you might be better off rolling that "sizeable amount" ?into an IRA.

Do you already have IRA's? Might be a good time to start one.

Do you own a home? check about rolling that money into a roth IRA for when you buy.

You have much more control over IRA's, you can buy individual securites as you wish as opposed to your companies garden variety $hit mutual funds - biggest rip off in 20 years IMHO. Look at mutual fund performance...its terrible...

yeah, I know, the last 5 years have been stagnant in everything except real estate....not a good enough answer for me,as they keep taking fees out. "Fuk you you're fired, fund manager!"

Yes, you should still contribute enough to get your current employeers match - thats free money, but having IRAs gives you even more tax shelter - which you may need someday.....maybe...

just an idea.

 

[FlyChicaga]

Thanks for the advice guys. Hey Gulfstream, you're not as big a d*ck as I thought. Ha, I'm totally kidding! I appreciate the input.

How much is worth opening an IRA? I remember one is pre-tax and one is post-tax (Roth versus regular IRA), but can't remember which.

BTW, our 401(k) provider is T. Rowe Price, and right now with B-plan and company match I'm getting about 14.5% of my pay into the 401(k) with 8% being my contribution. Would it be best to shave down my own contribution (doesn't affect company match) and feed that remaining percentage into an IRA?

 

[stillflyn]

If ATA files ch. 7 before you roll your 401k out of Great West there is a good chance that it could become a "lost 401k". It would still be your money in your name. You can still change your funds within Great West and do everything you can do now except for roll it out. In lots of cases of ch. 7 filings you have to go to court to get your money. That is, unless the ch. 7 company has kept someone on the payroll to send out the roll over paper work to the thousands of affected employees. This is usually the last thing that a ch. 7 company thinks about.

ROLL YOUR MONEY OUT NOW!!!!!

 

[Buschpilot]

How much is worth opening an IRA? I remember one is pre-tax and one is post-tax (Roth versus regular IRA), but can't remember which.

It's free to open any IRA, but there are usually maintenance fee's associated with it. Make sure that the IRA fund you choose is a no-load fund. I pay somewhere in the neighborhood of $15 bucks a year in fee's. Not too bad. The traditional IRA is pre-tax (you gotta put your contributions on your 1040, though, not like the 401k which your employer already contributed for you pre-tax) then taxed when it is distributed. The Roth IRA is taxed when you contribute it and not taxed when it is distributed when you retire.

BTW, our 401(k) provider is T. Rowe Price, and right now with B-plan and company match I'm getting about 14.5% of my pay into the 401(k) with 8% being my contribution. Would it be best to shave down my own contribution (doesn't affect company match) and feed that remaining percentage into an IRA?

I would contribute as much as the employer will match, then take the rest and put it somewhere else. Like someone said, most 401k aren't very good (im my experience), and you can get better returns elswhere (like an IRA). Pick up this month's Money Magazine - it has listings, performance, and cost of all Mutual Funds on the market. That'll give you a good start.

B

 

[Gulfstream 200]

I agree.

Roll it into an IRA - check ROTHs and see about using the money for a house deposit once you get a REAL flying job and get off an RJ at welfarejet Inc.. (hehe I AM a di#k!) - kidding..

....

ALWAYS continue to put in enough in your 401k to get the match. NEVER turn down free money. Right now I wouldnt do any more than the match as 401ks kinda $uck (IMHO)

I thought the min to open a no-fee IRA was 3K, but Im just not sure. Try places like Fidelity, etc..IRAs are pretty simple...just dont take possesion of the money, be sure its just a rollover...

The GOAL once your income improves:

Max 401K halfway through the year. (Get full match)
Max 2 IRAs (plus 2 for your wife, if applicable) with the rest of the year.

Good thinking about it now...with the way pensions are going these days its all up to us it seems....I know I plan retirement on my pension getting sacked! -- sad...

Good Luck Chicago!

 

[FlyChicaga]

Cool, thanks for the input. Gulfstream, what you said about pensions is right... I don't think any career is safe anymore when it comes to pensions. So I just plan on doing it alone, then if I get it, using a pension to pay for my house in Antigua...

 

[Gulfstream 200]

Cool, thanks for the input. Gulfstream, what you said about pensions is right... I don't think any career is safe anymore when it comes to pensions. So I just plan on doing it alone, then if I get it, using a pension to pay for my house in Antigua...

I was thinking of spending mine on hookers and blackjack, but Antigua is pretty nice too!

.

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

You have much more control over IRA's, you can buy individual securites as you wish as opposed to your companies garden variety $hit mutual funds - biggest rip off in 20 years IMHO. Look at mutual fund performance...its terrible...

If you want to actually want to look at the performance of a mutual fund with any idea of understanding what you're analyzing, learn what benchmark the fund is being measured against. Then find out how that fund compares against it's peers. In other words, if the fund seeks to outperform the S&P 500, it should have a ranking as to how much better or worse the performance was than all the other funds that attempt to do the same. And don't bother with one year returns. Three, five and ten year returns are much better indicators of how well the fund is managed. Check to see how long the portfolio manager has been managing that fund.

The portfolio manager is there to not only earn positive returns but first, to get rid of all diversifiable risk. Think of a fund manager as a risk manager. Just because a fund has a return of -8.3% over five years does not mean it isn't a good investment. Possibly the benchmark return over that period of time is around -10.5%. In other words, the fund has outperformed the market by over 200 basis points (1050-830=220) in that span of time. That fund may be a top performer in it's class(say in the 93rd percentile). Simply looking at the total return doesn't tell the whole story.

Be careful of fees. Just because a fund is no-load up front, doesn't mean you won't pay a big exit fee when you sell or pay higher management fees while the $$$ are invested. Plane rides aren't free and neither is professional money management.

Mr. I.

 

[Captain X]

MS,

Why don't you just roll your balance over into the XJT 401?

I know that being new and all you don't have that much more in it already but if you put $x into a Roth vs. $x into the 401 at XJT your interest and TVM will be based on either just $x in the Roth or $x + current 401 balance. Ask yourself, is it better to have two investment vehicles with a "lower" starting point or 1 with a higher overall, synergistic starting point?

I think you will find that if you roll your ATA 401 balance into the XJT 401 that the sum of the whole will be greater than the parts.

You may also want to investigate the tax implications of rolling it into a Roth (or other) IRA. You may find that you will be taxed on money that until now was saved pre-tax.

Watch out for the inflight crapping stories from you B52 and C5 classmates