Your options leaving Cedars-Sinai match any plan participant’s: keep the account where it is, move it into a new employer’s plan, roll it to an IRA, or take the cash and the tax bill. Because nonprofit hospitals typically run 403(b) plans, add one preliminary check — whether your balance sits in mutual funds or inside an annuity contract with surrender terms.
A research hospital’s workforce, a nonprofit’s plan
Cedars-Sinai is one of the region’s premier academic medical centers, drawing nurses, physicians, researchers, imaging and lab technologists and administrative professionals from all over greater Los Angeles — including plenty who commute from the southeast county cities near us.
The plan's Form 5500 filing for 2024 (public at efast.dol.gov) lists the Cedars-Sinai 403(b) Retirement Plan; Voya is listed for recordkeeping. Cedars-Sinai also files for a Cedars-Sinai 401(k) Plan that reported no active participants for 2024. Your SPD, statement or HR confirms the full plan line-up that applies to you.
Your four options
A 403(b) faces the same federal menu as a 401(k); the difference is in the plumbing underneath, which is what the checklist below is for.
| Option | Good when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Leave it | Fees are institutional-class and the lineup suits how you invest | Balances under the plan’s cash-out threshold can be involuntarily distributed |
| Roll to new employer | Consolidation matters to you and the receiving plan is well run | You inherit whatever menu and pricing the new employer chose |
| Roll to an IRA | You value flexibility and a full universe of investments | Pre-tax IRA money can snarl the pro-rata math on a later backdoor Roth |
| Cash out | True hardship and every alternative is exhausted | Tax plus an early-distribution penalty before 59½ — and decades of growth surrendered |
Things to check in your specific Cedars-Sinai plan
Plan facts on this page come from the plan's public Form 5500 filing for 2024; plans change, so confirm with your current statement.
- Fund platform or annuity contract? Some 403(b) money sits in custodial mutual-fund accounts, some inside annuity contracts that can impose surrender charges or payout restrictions on the way out. Your statement and contract say which you have.
- Which recordkeeper holds your account. The plan's Form 5500 filing for 2024 (public at efast.dol.gov) lists the Cedars-Sinai 403(b) Retirement Plan; Voya is listed for recordkeeping.
- Whether more than one plan covers you. Your SPD, statement or HR confirms the full plan line-up that applies to you.
- Vesting on employer money. Your own deferrals are always yours; employer contributions vest on the plan’s timetable.
- Loans and after-tax amounts. Your SPD, statement or HR confirms any loan and after-tax provisions.
The annuity wrinkle, explained
Historically, many 403(b) plans were built on annuity contracts, and money inside one can face surrender schedules — a percentage charge that declines over years — plus contract features you may not want to abandon without looking, such as guaranteed rates on older contracts. None of this blocks a rollover legally; it changes the arithmetic. Before moving an annuity-based balance, get the surrender figure in writing and weigh it against what you would save in fees elsewhere.
Always transfer directly. Insist on a trustee-to-trustee transfer. If the plan instead cuts a cheque to you, 20% federal withholding applies under IRC § 3405(c), and making the rollover whole within 60 days means producing that withheld amount from your own savings.
Common questions
Is rolling over a 403(b) different from rolling over a 401(k)?
The destinations and tax treatment are essentially the same — IRA, new plan, or stay put. The practical difference is the vehicle: if your 403(b) money is inside an annuity contract, check surrender charges and any guarantees before you move, because those belong to the contract, not to the tax code.
I am moving to another hospital. Should the money follow me?
Often it can — plan-to-plan rollovers between health systems are routine — but compare the receiving plan’s costs and menu first. A move that simplifies your life while raising your fees is only half a win.
What do you charge to review my statement?
There's no fee for the initial review, and it carries no obligation. If you later hire us, our asset-based fee is the whole of our compensation — no commissions, trails, or provider payments of any kind.
Bring the contract, not just the balance
We will find the surrender terms, compare the real costs, and give you a straight answer on whether this money should move at all.