Taking Money When You Need It
You can withdraw money from your Illinois Secure Choice account by requesting a distribution.
While the program is meant to help you save for retirement, we understand that life’s unexpected moments sometimes come with a price. What you do with your savings is entirely up to you, and the money you save is available to you if you need it in an emergency.
Moving Your Money
A Roth IRA also allows you the flexibility to move your money if you decide your savings isn’t where you want it to be.
If you’d like to move the savings in your Illinois Secure Choice Roth IRA, you can transfer or roll your balance to an established Roth IRA at a different financial organization at any time. Simply submit a request for a transfer on the Illinois Secure Choice web portal for your Roth IRA to be sent directly to your new financial organization for deposit in your established Roth IRA.
Alternatively, you can request a distribution of your Illinois Secure Choice Roth IRA using the Distribution Request form. The funds will be distributed to you, and you’ll then have 60 days to roll over your money to your established Roth IRA with your new financial organization.
Keep in mind that the IRS limits you to one rollover in any 12-month period. This one-rollover-per-year limit applies to all of your IRAs (both traditional and Roth IRAs).
No Pressure to Withdraw
Keep in mind, while your money is always available when you need it, you don’t need to take money out at any time. Unlike traditional IRAs, you aren’t required to take minimum distributions (RMDs) from a Roth IRA when you reach a certain age. If you don’t need the money, you can let your assets continue to potentially grow tax-free for as long as you like.
In addition, if you don’t withdraw your Roth IRA assets before you pass away, you can leave the account to anyone by designating one or more beneficiaries. Your beneficiary would have the option of taking a lump-sum distribution or receiving payments from the account over a number of years (subject to the required minimum distribution rules that apply to beneficiaries). The money would be available to your beneficiary tax-free as long as five years have passed since the first year you contributed to the Roth IRA.
Since Illinois Secure Choice is a Roth IRA, distributions from your account will be subject to taxation in accordance with applicable federal tax rules.
