Betterment at Work 401(k) Rollover: ETF-Only Portfolios, Betterment IRA vs. External Custodian & Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

Betterment at Work is a fintech 401(k) platform designed for small and mid-size businesses — particularly tech companies, startups, and professional services firms whose owners want a modern, low-friction retirement plan without the legacy infrastructure of traditional plan providers. Betterment operates as its own recordkeeper, and the 401(k) platform uses the same betterment.com environment and ETF-based portfolio approach as Betterment's consumer investment product. The investment lineup is ETF-only — no mutual funds, no stable value fund, no proprietary insurance products. This structural approach has implications for the rollover decision that differ from what you would encounter rolling out of a TIAA, Principal, or Nationwide plan: there is no equity wash provision, no surrender charge, and no stable value timing concern. But there are other Betterment-specific traps — particularly around the Betterment IRA default rollover path, the Backdoor Roth pro-rata interaction, and the platform context that can create confusion between the consumer Betterment account and the employer plan. This guide covers the Betterment at Work platform, the rollover decision framework, Betterment-specific traps, and the step-by-step rollover process for participants leaving a Betterment at Work plan.

Understanding the Betterment at Work platform

Betterment at Work was designed for employers who want a modern, technology-forward 401(k) without the complexity of legacy recordkeeping platforms. Betterment serves as its own recordkeeper, TPA functions included — there is no third-party recordkeeper behind the interface. Employers and employees both use betterment.com, though different sections of the platform serve the employer plan vs. the consumer product. For rollover purposes, the key platform characteristics:

Step-by-step: Rolling FROM a Betterment at Work 401(k) to an external IRA

Step 1 — Log in to betterment.com and review your plan account

Log in to betterment.com and navigate to your 401(k) plan account (not the consumer investment section of the platform). Confirm:

• Your total balance and vested balance — if any employer contributions are subject to a vesting schedule, only the vested portion is yours. Download or review your Summary Plan Description to confirm the vesting schedule for each contribution type (employee deferrals are always 100% vested; employer contributions vary by plan design).
• Any outstanding plan loans — an outstanding loan balance becomes a plan loan offset at separation, reducing the net amount you can roll over. See the QPLO guide for the October 15 extended deadline to replace the offset amount and avoid taxes and the 10% early withdrawal penalty.
• That your final paycheck contribution has posted — allow 5–10 business days after your last day of employment for Betterment to receive and post the 401(k) deduction from your final paycheck. Initiating the rollover before the final contribution posts means you will receive less than your full balance in the first rollover and need a second distribution for the remaining amount.
• Your mailing address and contact information — Betterment distributes rollover checks to external custodians by mail in some cases. Confirm your address is current in your account settings before initiating.

Step 2 — Decide: Betterment IRA or external custodian?

This decision has implications beyond convenience. Key evaluation criteria:

• Choose the Betterment IRA if: you want to continue automated ETF-portfolio investing in a single platform, you value tax-loss harvesting (available at higher Betterment IRA balance levels), you do not currently have an IRA at Fidelity/Vanguard/Schwab, and you do not have an active Backdoor Roth strategy that requires a zero pre-tax IRA balance. The Betterment IRA is one of the best robo-advisor IRAs available and is a genuinely strong choice for investors who prefer automated portfolio management over self-directed investing.
• Choose an external IRA (Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab) if: you already have an IRA at one of those institutions and want to consolidate, you want self-directed investing (individual stocks, bond ladders, options, sector ETFs beyond Betterment's model portfolios), you want access to a full-service brokerage platform, or you plan Backdoor Roth contributions that require keeping pre-tax IRA balance at zero and your new employer's plan accepts incoming rollovers. See the custodian comparison guide for Fidelity vs. Vanguard vs. Schwab evaluation.
• Consider a reverse rollover to your new employer's 401(k) if: you have an active Backdoor Roth strategy and do not want to create pre-tax IRA balance that would trigger the pro-rata rule. See the reverse rollover guide — if your new employer's plan accepts incoming rollovers from 401(k) plans, rolling the Betterment balance to the new 401(k) rather than to any IRA is the cleanest path for Backdoor Roth preservation.

Step 3 — Open the receiving account before initiating the rollover

If rolling to an external IRA (not the Betterment IRA), open the rollover IRA at your chosen custodian before contacting Betterment. Online account opening takes 10–15 minutes with no initial deposit required. Obtain the FBO payee name and your new IRA account number from the receiving institution. Common FBO payee formats:

• Fidelity: "Fidelity Management Trust Company FBO [Your Full Legal Name]"
• Vanguard: "Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company FBO [Your Full Legal Name]"
• Schwab: "Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. FBO [Your Full Legal Name]"

Confirm the exact FBO payee language directly with the receiving custodian — a mismatched payee name on the check is the most common cause of processing delays or returned rollover checks.

Step 4 — Initiate the rollover through betterment.com

In your Betterment at Work 401(k) account, navigate to the distribution or rollover section. Select Direct Rollover to IRA. If rolling to the Betterment IRA, select the Betterment IRA option. If rolling to an external IRA, provide the FBO payee name and receiving account number.

Always use direct rollover — not a cash distribution. A direct rollover avoids the 20% mandatory federal income tax withholding under IRC § 3405(c) that applies when funds are distributed directly to you rather than to the receiving institution.² An indirect rollover also starts the 60-day clock under IRC § 402(c)(3) — you must deposit the full distribution amount (including any withheld 20%) into the receiving IRA within 60 days to avoid taxes and the 10% early withdrawal penalty.³

Betterment will liquidate your ETF positions (T+2 settlement) and then process the rollover distribution. This adds 2 business days of settlement time before the rollover proceeds are available for distribution.

Step 5 — Receive and deposit the proceeds

For external IRA rollovers, Betterment may distribute proceeds by FBO check mailed to your home address or by electronic transfer depending on the receiving custodian. Do not deposit an FBO check at a personal bank account. The check is made payable to the receiving institution FBO you — deliver it to the receiving institution with a cover letter identifying your IRA account number and specifying this is a direct rollover.

Once the rollover posts at the receiving IRA, it will land in the default cash or money market position. Log in and invest the proceeds in your target allocation promptly.

Betterment issues Form 1099-R for the distribution tax year with code G (direct rollover) in Box 7. This is not taxable income, but it does appear on your Form 1040. See the rollover tax reporting guide for Form 1040 Lines 5a/5b handling.

Processing timelines

5 Betterment-specific rollover traps

1. The Betterment IRA default path — evaluating automated investing vs. self-directed options

When you leave a Betterment at Work employer, the platform naturally surfaces the rollover-to-Betterment-IRA path as the primary option. For many participants, rolling to the Betterment IRA is a genuinely good outcome — it keeps assets in a well-designed, low-cost robo-advisor environment with automated rebalancing, and the transition is frictionless because Betterment handles it internally without check issuance and mailing delays.

The trap is that "frictionless" is not always "optimal." Ask these questions before choosing the Betterment IRA:

• Do you already have an IRA at Fidelity, Vanguard, or Schwab? Maintaining a separate Betterment IRA alongside an existing major-custodian IRA splits your retirement assets, creates an extra beneficiary designation to maintain, and complicates your future RMD calculations. Unless the Betterment IRA has clear advantages for your situation (tax-loss harvesting above $50,000 balance, preference for robo-advisor management), consolidating into your existing IRA simplifies your financial picture without a meaningful cost difference.
• Do you want to invest in anything Betterment's portfolios do not include? Betterment's ETF portfolios are excellent for broad market diversification but do not accommodate individual stock holdings, bond ladders, individual REIT positions, sector ETFs outside Betterment's model allocations, or access to options strategies. If your retirement investing philosophy extends beyond diversified ETF portfolios, an external full-service brokerage IRA at Fidelity, Schwab, or Vanguard provides that flexibility. The cost difference is minimal — Betterment's ETF expense ratios are competitive with what you would hold directly at Fidelity or Schwab. The decision is about investment approach and account features, not cost.
• Do you plan to make Backdoor Roth IRA contributions? The Betterment IRA is a traditional (pre-tax) IRA. Rolling pre-tax Betterment 401(k) money to the Betterment IRA creates pre-tax IRA balance — subject to the pro-rata rule for any Backdoor Roth conversions you make in the same or future years. This problem is not unique to the Betterment IRA; it applies to any traditional IRA you roll into. But if you want to preserve your Backdoor Roth strategy, evaluate the reverse rollover to your new employer's 401(k) before defaulting to the Betterment IRA. See Trap 2 below.

2. Backdoor Roth pro-rata trap — the Betterment IRA is still a pre-tax IRA

The Backdoor Roth IRA strategy — making a nondeductible traditional IRA contribution and immediately converting it to Roth — depends on having zero or near-zero pre-tax traditional IRA balance. The pro-rata rule under IRC § 408(d)(2) aggregates all of your traditional IRAs (including SEP and SIMPLE IRAs) to determine what fraction of any IRA conversion is tax-free vs. taxable.⁴ Rolling pre-tax 401(k) money to any traditional IRA — including the Betterment IRA — creates pre-tax IRA balance that destroys the Backdoor Roth strategy for the years the pre-tax balance remains in an IRA.

A concrete example: you leave your job with $150,000 in your Betterment at Work 401(k) and roll it to the Betterment IRA. You also plan to make a $7,500 nondeductible traditional IRA contribution (at 2026 limits⁵) and immediately convert it to a Roth IRA via the Backdoor Roth. With $150,000 of pre-tax IRA balance and $7,500 of nondeductible basis, the pro-rata calculation looks like this: nondeductible fraction = $7,500 ÷ ($150,000 + $7,500) = 4.8%. Of the $7,500 conversion, only $360 is tax-free; the remaining $7,140 is taxable ordinary income at your marginal rate. If you are in the 32% bracket, that is approximately $2,285 in unnecessary taxes — per year, for as long as the $150,000 pre-tax IRA balance remains in the Betterment IRA.

The solution is the reverse rollover: rather than rolling the Betterment 401(k) to any IRA, roll it to your new employer's 401(k) plan if that plan accepts incoming rollovers. This eliminates the pre-tax IRA balance and preserves the full Backdoor Roth tax-free conversion path. Check with your new employer's plan administrator (or the new plan's website) whether incoming rollovers from other 401(k) plans are accepted before initiating any rollover. See the pro-rata guide and reverse rollover guide for the full mechanics and execution steps.

3. Vesting schedule — Safe Harbor immediate vesting is common but not universal

Betterment at Work makes Safe Harbor 401(k) plan design easy for employers to adopt — and many of their clients do. Under a Safe Harbor plan, employer matching or nonelective contributions vest immediately (100%) under IRC § 401(k)(12) or (13).⁶ If your plan uses Safe Harbor design, you can roll over the full employer contribution balance regardless of how long you have been at the company.

Two situations where vesting still matters even with Betterment at Work:

• Non-Safe Harbor plans: Not all Betterment at Work employers use Safe Harbor. If your employer chose a traditional matching design, a vesting schedule applies to employer contributions. The minimum standards under ERISA § 203(a)(2) allow cliff vesting up to 3 years or graded vesting up to 6 years.⁷ If you are approaching a cliff vesting date, delaying your departure by a few weeks could mean the difference between a full and partial rollover on the employer contributions.
• Profit-sharing contributions: Some Betterment at Work employers layer discretionary profit-sharing contributions on top of the base match. Even in Safe Harbor plans, profit-sharing contributions can have their own vesting schedule. Log in to betterment.com, access your plan's Summary Plan Description under the documents section, and confirm the vesting schedule for each contribution type before initiating.

To verify: your betterment.com account balance screen typically shows your total balance, but the vested balance is what matters for the rollover. Confirm both figures before initiating — only the vested balance transfers.

4. Rule of 55 forfeiture — the rollover is permanent

Under IRC § 72(t)(2)(A)(v),⁸ employees who separate from service in or after the year they turn age 55 can take distributions from the employer plan they separated from without the 10% early withdrawal penalty — even before age 59½. This exception disappears permanently for any assets rolled to an IRA. There is no mechanism to recapture it after the rollover is complete.

Betterment's clean, frictionless rollover UX can accelerate this irreversible decision. A 57-year-old leaving a job with $380,000 in their Betterment 401(k) and needing $40,000/year in bridge income before Social Security and pension benefits kick in has a meaningful Rule of 55 opportunity: keeping enough in the Betterment plan to fund three to four years of bridge withdrawals preserves approximately $12,000 to $16,000 in avoided 10% early withdrawal penalties. Rolling everything out — which Betterment's interface makes easy — permanently forecloses those penalty-free withdrawals.

The partial rollover strategy is usually the right approach when the Rule of 55 applies: roll the portion not needed for bridge income to an IRA for a broader investment universe, and leave enough in the Betterment plan for the planned pre-59½ distributions. Confirm before executing that your Betterment at Work plan allows partial distributions post-separation — most Betterment plans do, but the SPD confirms it. See the Rule of 55 guide for the detailed mechanics, partial rollover execution steps, and the decision framework for how much to keep in-plan.

5. Platform section confusion — 401(k) account vs. consumer Betterment account

Betterment is unusual among 401(k) recordkeepers in that their employer plan and their consumer investment product share the same betterment.com platform. Participants who have both a Betterment at Work 401(k) and a personal Betterment consumer account (taxable investing, Roth IRA, or consumer traditional IRA) log in to the same website with the same credentials and navigate between account types within the interface.

This creates a confusion risk when executing the rollover. Specifically:

• IRA contribution vs. rollover confusion: A participant rolling their 401(k) to the Betterment IRA might navigate to their Betterment consumer traditional IRA and initiate a rollover contribution there — but the contribution enters the IRA as an incoming transfer, not as a direct rollover from the 401(k). The distribution from the Betterment at Work 401(k) still needs to be separately initiated from the employer plan section of the platform. Initiating a rollover to the Betterment IRA begins in the 401(k) plan section of betterment.com, not the consumer IRA section.
• Balance confusion: The consumer Betterment account balance and the 401(k) balance both appear in the betterment.com dashboard. Participants who have not looked at the plan in a while may underestimate their 401(k) balance or assume the consumer account balance includes the 401(k). When calculating the rollover amount, confirm you are looking specifically at the 401(k) account, not the aggregated balance including consumer investment accounts.

The simple fix: when initiating the rollover, start specifically in the "Work" or "401(k)" section of betterment.com and follow the distribution/rollover prompts from there. If at any point the flow looks like it is asking for a contribution amount rather than processing a distribution, you are likely in the wrong section. Contact Betterment participant support to confirm the correct rollover initiation path for your plan's specific configuration.

Three real scenarios

Scenario 1: Product manager at 34 — reverse rollover rescues Backdoor Roth

James, 34, joined a new startup and left behind a $95,000 Betterment at Work 401(k) from his previous employer. He had been running a Backdoor Roth IRA strategy for three years — making a $7,500 nondeductible contribution each year and immediately converting it to Roth, with zero pre-tax IRA balance (he had never had a traditional IRA, only Roth). His initial plan: roll the Betterment 401(k) to the Betterment IRA for convenience. Betterment made it easy — a few clicks, no paperwork.

His advisor flagged the pro-rata issue immediately. Rolling $95,000 of pre-tax 401(k) money to the Betterment traditional IRA would create $95,000 of pre-tax IRA balance. James's annual $7,500 Backdoor Roth conversion would be 93% taxable ($95,000 ÷ ($95,000 + $7,500 nondeductible contribution)), generating approximately $7,000 of taxable income per conversion instead of zero. At his 35% effective marginal rate, that was approximately $2,450 in extra federal income tax per year — compounding, for the decade-plus until he either depleted the pre-tax IRA through conversions or rolled it somewhere else.

His new employer's 401(k) plan (administered by Fidelity via NetBenefits) accepted incoming rollovers. James instead rolled the Betterment 401(k) balance directly to his new Fidelity 401(k), keeping his pre-tax IRA balance at zero. The Backdoor Roth continued cleanly. Total tax cost avoided over 10 years: approximately $24,500 — a meaningful outcome that the "easier" Betterment IRA path would have permanently foreclosed.

Lesson: before rolling a Betterment 401(k) to the Betterment IRA, check whether your new employer's 401(k) accepts incoming rollovers. If it does and you have an active Backdoor Roth strategy, the reverse rollover is almost always the better path. "Frictionless" is not the same as "optimal."

Scenario 2: Operations director at 56 — partial rollover preserves Rule of 55

Diane, 56, was laid off when her employer downsized their operations team. Her Betterment at Work 401(k) held $420,000 (fully vested — Safe Harbor plan). She had no new role lined up, her spouse was also between jobs, and they needed approximately $55,000/year in household income for the next 2.5 years before Diane's small pension began and they could manage on investment income alone. Rolling the full $420,000 to an IRA seemed logical: better investment universe, one less account to track.

Her advisor identified the Rule of 55 opportunity. Diane separated from service in 2026, the year she turned 56 — qualifying her for the IRC § 72(t)(2)(A)(v) exception on distributions from the Betterment plan she separated from. Penalty-free early withdrawal access, with no 10% tax hit, until she reached 59½.

The partial rollover structure: keep $155,000 in the Betterment plan (2.8 years × ~$55,000/year with a buffer) for Rule of 55 distributions, and roll the remaining $265,000 to a Fidelity rollover IRA for a broader investment lineup and long-term growth. Diane confirmed with Betterment that partial distributions were available post-separation. Her Betterment plan's SPD confirmed distributions could be taken quarterly in any amount above a $1,000 minimum.

Over 2.8 years, Diane took $153,000 in penalty-free Rule of 55 distributions from the Betterment plan. At 10%, avoided penalties totaled approximately $15,300 — in addition to the flexibility of not having to resort to SEPP 72(t) fixed payment schedules that would have locked her into a payment amount for at least five years. At 59½, she rolled the remaining Betterment balance to Fidelity for consolidation.

Lesson: Betterment's clean rollover UX makes it easy to roll everything out in a few clicks — but for participants between 55 and 59½ with bridge income needs, that easy click permanently forfeits up to $15,000+ in avoided early withdrawal penalties per $150,000 of bridge distributions. A partial rollover adds minimal operational complexity and preserves substantial value.

Scenario 3: Growth-stage VP at 48 — IRMAA planning on a large Betterment balance

Kim, 48, left her growth-stage company after a secondary liquidity event and planned to take 18 months off before joining another startup. Her Betterment at Work 401(k) held $510,000. She had no new employer 401(k) yet (no incoming rollover destination), she was not actively using the Backdoor Roth strategy (her income during the sabbatical would be low enough for direct Roth IRA contributions at the 2026 $7,500 limit⁵), and she wanted to start building a Roth conversion plan during the low-income sabbatical years before her income presumably jumped again at the next employer.

Her advisor recommended rolling the $510,000 Betterment 401(k) to a Fidelity rollover IRA rather than the Betterment IRA — primarily for account consolidation (her Roth IRA was at Fidelity) and investment flexibility (she wanted to invest the rollover in a mix of individual equities and ETFs, not Betterment's automated portfolio model). The rollover itself was straightforward: Betterment liquidated positions, issued an FBO check to Fidelity, and the balance posted within 10 business days.

The more substantive work was the Roth conversion plan. During 18 months of sabbatical, Kim's MAGI was projected to be approximately $60,000 (primarily investment income from her taxable account). The 2026 single-filer 22% bracket top was approximately $103,350 (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32⁹). Her advisor built a conversion schedule filling the bracket to approximately $103,000 each year for 2026 and 2027 — converting approximately $43,000 per year from the Fidelity rollover IRA to a Roth IRA, staying below the $109,000 single-filer IRMAA first-tier threshold¹⁰ that would affect Medicare premiums two years forward. Two years of bracket-filling conversions at this level reduced the projected pre-tax IRA balance by approximately $86,000 before Kim's next employer opportunity.

Lesson: a large Betterment 401(k) rollover during a planned low-income period creates a Roth conversion opportunity that a robo-advisor IRA can execute mechanically (Betterment's tax-loss harvesting does not apply to IRA-to-Roth conversions), but which benefits from deliberate bracket-filling and IRMAA-awareness planning that a fee-only advisor can optimize. The choice of Fidelity over the Betterment IRA was driven by investment flexibility and platform consolidation — not by cost differences, which were negligible.

When to get a specialist involved

A straightforward Betterment at Work rollover — fully vested Safe Harbor plan, rolling to Betterment IRA, no active Backdoor Roth, over age 59½ — can typically be initiated through betterment.com without specialist guidance. A fee-only rollover specialist adds clear value when any of these apply:

• Active Backdoor Roth IRA contributions — evaluating whether rolling to any traditional IRA (Betterment IRA or external) triggers the pro-rata rule and whether a reverse rollover to the new employer's 401(k) preserves zero pre-tax IRA balance
• Ages 55–59½ with bridge income needs — structuring a partial rollover that preserves Rule of 55 access for the bridge-income portion while rolling the remainder to an IRA for a broader investment universe
• Profit-sharing contributions with uncertain vesting — confirming vested balance and whether approaching a vesting threshold warrants delaying the separation or rollover by weeks
• Roth conversion planning during a low-income year — sequencing conversions below the 2026 IRMAA threshold ($109,000 single / $218,000 MFJ¹⁰) to reduce future RMD exposure without triggering Medicare surcharges two years out
• Large rollover balance during retirement income transition — integrating the Betterment rollover into a withdrawal sequencing plan that optimizes Social Security timing, RMD start date (age 73 for born 1951–1959; age 75 for born 1960+¹¹), and Roth conversion runway
• Outstanding plan loan with QPLO October 15 deadline — ensuring the loan offset rollover is funded correctly within the IRS extended deadline to avoid taxes and the 10% penalty

1. SECURE 2.0 Act § 304, Automatic Rollover Threshold Increase: IRS — SECURE 2.0 Act Changes Affecting Defined Contribution Plans and DOL — Retirement Plans and ERISA FAQs — SECURE 2.0 § 304 increased the mandatory automatic rollover threshold for small terminated participant accounts from $5,000 to $7,000 for plan years beginning after December 31, 2023. Plans may automatically distribute accounts at or below this threshold to a default IRA at participant separation. Verified June 2026.
2. IRC § 3405(c), Mandatory Withholding on Eligible Rollover Distributions: IRS Publication 575 — Pension and Annuity Income — The 20% mandatory federal income tax withholding applies to eligible rollover distributions paid directly to the participant rather than as a direct rollover to an eligible retirement plan or IRA. Direct rollovers are exempt from mandatory withholding. Verified June 2026.
3. IRC § 402(c)(3), 60-Day Rollover Requirement: IRS — Rollovers of Retirement Plan and IRA Distributions — Indirect (60-day) rollovers must be completed within 60 days of the date the participant receives the distribution. The self-certification waiver procedure under Rev. Proc. 2016-47 may apply in qualifying hardship circumstances. Verified June 2026.
4. IRC § 408(d)(2), Pro-Rata Rule for IRA Distributions: IRS Publication 590-B — Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) — The pro-rata rule requires that each IRA distribution (including a Roth conversion) be treated as a proportional mix of pre-tax and after-tax IRA basis, aggregated across all traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs owned by the participant. A participant cannot selectively convert only the nondeductible portion first. Verified June 2026.
5. IRS IR-2025-252, 2026 IRA Contribution Limits: IRS — Retirement Topics: IRA Contribution Limits — For 2026, the IRA contribution limit is $7,500 (catch-up contribution of $1,000 for ages 50+ brings the limit to $8,500 for those eligible). This is the maximum nondeductible traditional IRA contribution used in the Backdoor Roth strategy. Verified June 2026 per IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32.
6. IRC § 401(k)(12) and (13), Safe Harbor 401(k) Immediate Vesting: IRS — 401(k) Resource Guide for Plan Participants — Safe Harbor 401(k) employer contributions under § 401(k)(12) (matching) and § 401(k)(13)/QACA (nonelective) must vest immediately at 100% as a condition of Safe Harbor plan status. Verified June 2026.
7. ERISA § 203(a)(2), Minimum Vesting Standards: DOL — Retirement Plans: Vesting and IRS — Retirement Topics: Vesting — ERISA § 203(a)(2) allows cliff vesting up to 3 years and graded vesting up to 6 years for employer contributions not subject to immediate Safe Harbor vesting. Profit-sharing contributions may follow a separately elected vesting schedule. Verified June 2026.
8. Rule of 55, IRC § 72(t)(2)(A)(v): IRS — Retirement Topics: Exceptions to Tax on Early Distributions — The age-55 rule provides an exception to the 10% early withdrawal penalty for distributions from a qualified employer plan when the participant separates from service in or after the year they turn age 55. This exception applies only to the specific employer plan from which the participant separated — not to IRAs or other plans. Rolling assets to a traditional IRA permanently forfeits this exception for the rolled amounts. Verified June 2026.
9. IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, 2026 Ordinary Income Tax Brackets: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 — Establishes 2026 ordinary income tax brackets. The 22% bracket for single filers applies to taxable income from $48,475 to $103,350; the 24% bracket applies from $103,350 to $197,300 (approximate). Roth conversion income is taxed as ordinary income at marginal rates in the year of conversion. Verified June 2026.
10. 2026 IRMAA Thresholds, IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and CMS: IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 — The Medicare Part B IRMAA first-tier threshold for 2026 is $109,000 (single filer) and $218,000 (married filing jointly) based on 2024 MAGI (2-year lookback). Roth conversions that push MAGI above the IRMAA threshold increase Medicare Part B premiums two years forward. Verified June 2026.
11. SECURE 2.0 § 107, RMD Age Increase: IRS — Retirement Topics: Required Minimum Distributions — Under SECURE 2.0 Act § 107, the required beginning date for RMDs is April 1 of the year following the year the participant turns age 73 (born 1951–1959) or age 75 (born 1960 or later). The still-working exception under IRC § 401(a)(9)(C) may apply for non-5%-owner participants still employed at the plan sponsor. Verified June 2026.

Betterment at Work platform descriptions, portal navigation, investment approach, rollover process, and distribution procedures reflect publicly available Betterment documentation and general 401(k) plan administration practices as of June 2026 and may vary by individual plan configuration and employer plan terms. Betterment at Work plan documents, Summary Plan Descriptions, and distribution processes may differ from the general descriptions above. Contact Betterment participant support and review your specific plan's Summary Plan Description before initiating any rollover. IRC and ERISA citations are consistent with 2026 law as verified across sibling pages of this site.