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Subject: I Took A Pension Distribution... Date: 11/15/2013 10:56 AM
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…and the amount fell into two categories:

- "Taxable amount to be rolled over"
- "After tax Employee Contribution amount to be rolled over"

I received two checks, one for each amount, both payable to Fidelity, for me to deposit.

Now, that first one… the taxable amount to be rolled over… is quite understandable to me. I've deposited the taxable amount into a rollover IRA.

The second check confuses me. It's described as an after tax amount. It would seem that I could open a regular taxable account at Fidelity and withdraw any amount I wanted without tax and without disclosing the transaction in any way to the IRS. But here is the kicker, I called the pension distribution center and they said that I'd have to declare any withdrawal as income…but could not address my train of thought on the subject, saying I'd have to talk to a tax expert. So, I say to myself "OK… you've said this after tax amount is to be declared as income even though it's described as after tax but you can't explain it and say I have to talk with a tax expert." I thanked him for his time….and decided to pose the situation here.


1) If I deposit this "after tax" amount in a separate account, in what way is it being "rolled over"?

2) Does this separate account have to be an IRA or can it be a regular account?

3) If the answer is "IRA", in what way is this after tax amount treated as any different from pre-tax contributions?

4) If the answer is "regular account", is this really and truly "after tax" and I don't have to explain it to the IRS or account for it in any way?

Obviously, I'm confused and don't understand the juxtaposition of "after tax" and "rolled over". It would seem to me to be money unfettered by any tax liability or reporting…..but I figured the experts here could clarify things for me since the "expert" at the pension distribution center could not.

Thanks for any help here…

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