Opening US IRA account while in Canada

corkman67 · Post by **corkman67** » Sun May 27, 2007 4:00 pm

Hi there,

I have a US 401k (under $10k) which for various reasons I want to convert to an IRA (incl. the fact that the company I used to work for will soon be disappearing).

Can anyone recommend any US investment firms which will let me open a US IRA account while living in Canada? Eg, Vanguard, Ameritrade, Etrade, etc?

If I can't do this, any recommendations on what I should do?

Thanks!

-Paul

corkman67 · Post by **corkman67** » Sun May 27, 2007 6:27 pm

I should clarify that I used to live in California under a TN...I've been back in Canada for a few years now, working for a different company than when I lived in the USA.

Thanks for any advice,

-Paul

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Mon May 28, 2007 12:34 pm

Your 401(k) is held by a management firm, of course, and not your old company. They likley have a rollover IRA in their stable, see if they will transfer your account into it.

Otherwise, it will be tough sledding to find a firm that will be willing to open up an accouny while in Canada. There are some smaller firms that might, but not for such a small portfoilio.

We've talked about the 401(k) ro RRSP transfer (search threads). This could be done, but you would end up losing the 10% early withdrawl penalty.