401k
401k Information

Mass Mutual 401k

The Indian economy has been on a continuous growth curve. This is providing the non-resident Indians (NRIs) to explore multiple options to invest their funds in their home country. The returns from India are considerably higher than those from the US or European countries.

Some of the investment optionsavailable to NRIs in India are:

  • Investment in the Indian equities markets, including IPOs
  • Investment in mutual funds
  • Company fixed deposits and non-convertible debentures of companies
  • Real estate investments
  • Government securities
  • National Savings Certificates issued by post offices in India
  • Deposits in Indian banks

Both NRIs and PIOs are offered several facilities by the Government of India. NRIs are Indian citizen who resides outside India, while PIO (Person of Indian Origin) refers to an individual who at any time held an Indian passport, or any of whose parents or grandparents was a citizen of India. While NRIs are allowed to invest in all sectors when Indian citizens are allowed, PIOs are allowed to invest only in non-agricultural sectors. A ’24% Scheme’ allows Indian companies, except those engaged in agricultural activities, to issue up to 24% of their shares and debentures to NRIs with repatriation benefits.

The following is the list of foreign Investments which can give good returns and provide protection against inflation:

Mutual funds
Mutual funds have in its fold a number of innovative products nowadays, opening up innumerable choices for investors. The investor now has the option to choose a mutual fund that meets his risk acceptance and his risk capacity levels.

Direct Equity
As in other parts of the world, in India too stocks have outperformed every other asset class in a longer run.

Company Shares/Debentures
Direct investment can be made by NRIs in proprietary/partnership concerns in India as also in shares/debentures of Indian companies. Portfolio investments i.e. purchase of shares/debentures of Indian companies through stock exchange/s in India are also permitted. These facilities are granted both on repatriation and non-repatriation basis.

Government Securities/Mutual Funds/ National Savings Certificates in India
NRIs are permitted to invest their funds in Government securities, Indian mutual funds and certain other investments such as the National Savings Certificate (NSC). Investments in NSC can be made by NRIs subject to certain terms and conditions. However, NRIs are not permitted to invest in bearer securities like Kisan Vikas Patra, Public Provident Fund (PPF) etc.

The maturity proceeds of such investments can be repatriated if they are purchased out of funds remitted from abroad or out of NRE/FCNR accounts. However, the maturity proceeds of investments purchased out of funds in NRO accounts can only be credited to NRO accounts and cannot be repatriated abroad.

Immovable Property
Reserve Bank of India has granted general permission to foreign citizens of Indian origin, whether resident in India or abroad, to purchase immovable property in India for their bona fide residential purpose. They are, therefore, not required to obtain any prior permission of Reserve Bank. Further, the Reserve Bank has granted general permission for sale of such property without its permission.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. QUESTION:
    How long does it take to withdraw 401k earnings?
    My Dad passed away in September and last month my brother and I filed with Mass Mutual to claim his earnings. We still have not heard back from them. I called today and all they said was “we received your paperwork and it is being processed but unfortunately that is all I can say”.

    …

    • ANSWER:
      401 days.

  2. QUESTION:
    What should I do about my 401k that was through ADP, but now my company doesn’t use ADP anymore?
    The very small company that I work for used to use ADP as their PPO and for payroll and stuff like that. I was contributing money to a 401k managed by mass mutual. But now my company does not go through ADP anymore, and the new organization they use apparently doesn’t have any kind of 401k plans set up, since they haven’t said anything at all about it to us. So, what happens to my 401k with mass mutual? Are they going to start charging me for having the account now? Where can I move it to? Can I set up a free account somewhere else? Or do I even have to move it, if I don’t have a new one? I’ve only ever heard about 401ks from people’s employers…
    The 401k has to do with ADP because they used to deduct contributions from my paycheck to go into the 401k and they set it all up, not me and anyone in our company, now that we don’t use them, no contributions are being deducted anymore.

    • ANSWER:
      Bkue

      The 402k still exists under your name and old account number. You can call Mass Mutual at the phone number provided on your last statement. More than likely you will be able to maintain that 401k htere, and they will deduct any fees from the earnings (as they have all along).

      Contact them or your human resources dept for any details that are unclear, but more than likely a business memo to all employees is pending.

      Should they require the closure of the 401k, you should go to your bank (if it has a brokerage) or to a brokerage and do a IRA Rollover, and put the money in a large cap stock fund or similar account that you had in your mass mutual account. DO NOT TAKE PERSONAL POSSESSION OF THE MONEY! It would be subject to mandatory withholding and fees.

      Soccerref

  3. QUESTION:
    How do 401K Plans work?
    Okay, so I started working at Seaworld and they do 3% towards a 401k plan with Mass Mutual Financial Group. This is the first I’m going to do 401K, (this is only my second job). My question is, this is only a summer job, when i get an other job and do 401K at the other job, does it go into the same 401K plan? Or is it separate and have different ones for every job i will have along my life? If it is different, is there any way to combine the money as I hold different jobs through out the years? In other words, does it matter what job or what financial institution each job has a 401k plan with? Or is all of that irrelevant and its just one 401k plan for an individual?

    • ANSWER: