You will have 60 days after receiving funds from your IRA
to get the funds into another IRA. You can possibly get a waiver or extension.
The penalty here is that it will be considered ordinary income and you will have to include it as such when you file. There is also a 10% fine if you take the distribution before you are 591/2.
There are some exceptions.
The only advantage would be if you needed to use the money for something else for a short time, as long as it is less than the 60 days or the hammer will fall, and taxes will be owed as it will be considered income.
If you receive funds it is a distribution so that when you put them
into another IRA, it is a rollover.
If you move your funds from one IRA custodian to another, it's an
IRA transfer.
Since you didn't get anything distributed to you it is not a rollover and it should be no problem.
There are no taxes or waiting periods for these kinds of transactions.
You don't have to report a transfer to the IRS.
So it seems that the basic rule is to keep your hands off of the funds.
The IRA rollover rules are clear below. See more on IRS Publication 590
Roll
From
Roll To
Roth IRA
Tradi
tional IRA
SIMPLE IRA
SEP IRA
457(b) Plan
Qualified Plan1 (pre-tax)
403(b) Plan (pre-tax)
Desig-
nated
Roth
Account (401(k),
403(b) or 457(b)2)
Roth IRA
YES
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
Tradi-
tional IRA
Yes3
Yes
NO
Yes
Yes4
Yes
Yes
NO
SIMPLE
IRA
Yes3, after 2 years
Yes,
after 2 years
YES
Yes, after 2 years
Yes, after 2 years
Yes, after 2 years
Yes, after 2 years
NO
SEP IRA
Yes3
Yes
NO
Yes
Yes4
Yes
Yes
NO
457(b)
Plan
Yes3
Yes
NO
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes,3, 5
after 12/31/10
Qualified Plan1 (pre-tax)
Yes3
Yes
NO
Yes
Yes4
Yes
Yes
Yes,3, 5
after 9/27/10
403(b)
Plan (pre-tax)
Yes3
Yes
NO
Yes
Yes4
Yes
Yes
Yes,3, 5
after 9/27/10
Desig
nated
Roth Account (401(k), 403(b) or 457(b)2)
Yes
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
Yes, if a direct trustee-totrustee transfer
1Qualified plans include, for example, profit-sharing, 401(k), money purchase, and defined benefit plans. 2Governmental 457(b) plans, after December 31, 2010. 3Must include in income. 4Must have separate accounts. 5Must be an in-plan rollover.
