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BouncyEgg t1_iy9jdix wrote

> I have a 401k from a previous job in the USA that is being shut down.

Depending on what you exactly mean by "shut down," it's conceivable the 401k will simply be rolled into a new 401k. Or a Traditional/Rollover IRA at the same custodian.

Have you clarified what would happen if you took no action?

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AcidicSuburb t1_iy9ti6p wrote

No, but this is good advice.

I'm not 100% clear what's happening either. This is actually for my girlfriend and she's not very financially savvy and is having a hard time getting answers from the account owners.

I thought this would be a good opportunity to just move it into an IRA with a larger firm, but that is proving challenging...

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BouncyEgg t1_iy9vqlp wrote

What you're realizing is that while there's no laws against it, financial institutions in the US pretty much lack a desire to take on the risk of dealing with international customers.

Risk > Benefit

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AcidicSuburb t1_iy9ybmd wrote

Yeah, I get that. It is frustrating though.

I feel like if the USA is going to continue taxing citizens who no longer work or live there, then they should have a duty to provide access to these kinds of services. What happened to "no taxation without representation"? Didn't you guys literally fight a war over that?

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BouncyEgg t1_iy9zcdm wrote

> then they should have a duty to provide access to these kinds of services.

Think about what you're saying.

You're basically saying that the government should take over custodianship and administering of 401k/IRA/etc.

We have far more pressing issues to resolve. We can't even get healthcare nationalized.

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AcidicSuburb t1_iya0iz1 wrote

Ha ha! I know. I'm just venting. We've spent far too much time and energy dealing with the IRS' tax and reporting requirements than I think is reasonable considering nobody in our household has lived in the USA for years. Most countries don't make their citizens abroad jump through all those hoops.

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