Save Signed Deferred Compensation Plan For Free

The 457 plan is a retirement savings plan and you generally cannot withdraw money while you are still employed. When you leave employment, you may withdraw funds; leave them in place; transfer them to a 457, 403(b) or 401(k) of a new employer; or roll them into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).

Deferred compensation plans don't have required minimum distributions, either. Based upon your plan options, generally, you may choose 1 of 2 ways to receive your deferred compensation: as a lump-sum payment or in installments.

You'll owe a 50 percent federal penalty tax on the difference between the amount you withdrew and the amount you should have withdrawn ? You'll still have to withdraw the required amount and pay any income tax due.

The Bottom Line If you have a qualified plan and have passed the vesting period, your deferred compensation is yours, even if you quit with no notice on very bad terms. If you have a non-qualified plan, you may have to forfeit all of your deferred compensation by quitting depending on your plan's specific terms.

Disadvantages of Deferred Compensation With a deferred compensation plan, you are effectively a creditor of the company, lending the company the salary you have deferred. If the company declares bankruptcy in the future, you can lose some or all of this money.

Your Contributions One easy way to increase your retirement savings is to contribute a percentage of your income to your Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP) account. Consider saving between 7% and 10% of your salary. The DCP makes it easy for you to save a percentage of your income through the percent-of-pay feature.

Con: Fewer Investment Options The money in a deferred compensation plan is frequently placed directly into company stock. You might not have the choice of diversifying the investments. As the value of the company fluctuates, your built-up savings could go up and down too.