How to Fill Out and Submit the Equitable Rollover Form

To roll retirement funds into an Equitable account, download the product-specific Equitable rollover form from equitable.com or request it by calling (877) 222-2144, then complete it as a direct rollover so the check goes straight from your old plan to Equitable and no tax is withheld. There is no single universal form. Equitable uses different paperwork depending on the contract you hold, such as the EQUI-VEST direct transfer and rollover form for 403(b) assets.¹ The choice between a direct and indirect rollover is the most consequential decision on the page, because picking indirect triggers an automatic 20 percent federal tax withholding on the taxable portion.

What to Have in Front of You

Mismatched account numbers and missing signatures cause most returned paperwork, so pull the details together first:

Your Equitable contract or certificate number, from your statement or welcome letter.
The distributing plan’s full legal name, account number, and the plan administrator’s mailing address or fax number. A recent statement usually has all of it.
Your full legal name (matching both accounts), Social Security number, date of birth, and current address.
The tax character of the money: pre-tax (traditional) or after-tax (Roth or after-tax contributions). Coding this wrong creates reporting problems later.
Your investment allocation preferences among Equitable’s sub-accounts. Leaving this blank sends the money to a default capital preservation or money market option.

Some distributing plans charge an outbound processing fee ranging from roughly $25 to $65 or more. Equitable’s own EQUI-VEST form notes a processing fee of up to $65 depending on the contract market and series. Ask both sides about fees before you submit anything.

Direct Rollover or Indirect Rollover

A direct rollover moves the funds straight from your old plan’s custodian to Equitable. The check is made payable to Equitable (or its custodian) for your benefit, you never touch the money, and the old plan is not required to withhold any federal income tax.² This is what most people should choose.

An indirect rollover means the old plan writes the check to you. When that happens, the plan must withhold 20 percent of the taxable portion for federal income tax.² You then have 60 days from receiving the distribution to deposit the full original amount, including the withheld 20 percent, into your Equitable account.³ You must front the withheld amount out of pocket to make the account whole. Miss the 60-day window or deposit less than the full amount and the shortfall is treated as a taxable distribution, plus a possible 10 percent early withdrawal penalty if you are under 59½.⁴

The IRS can waive the 60-day deadline in cases involving hardship, casualty, disaster, or events beyond your reasonable control, but that means a private letter ruling or self-certification.³ Avoid the whole problem by requesting a direct rollover.

Filling Out the Form Section by Section

Equitable’s rollover forms vary by product line but share the same structure. Using the EQUI-VEST form as the reference:

Section 1 — Owner’s Information. Enter your contract or certificate number, full name, Social Security number, address, and contact information. Everything must match Equitable’s records exactly. Even a small name discrepancy between the old plan and the Equitable account can stall the transfer.

Section 2A — Transaction Type. Check whether you are doing a direct transfer, contract exchange, or direct rollover. If you are converting pre-tax TSA funds into a Roth account, use the rollover conversion checkbox. Equitable codes and reports the money based on what you mark here.

Section 2B — Amount. Mark full or partial. For a partial rollover, write the dollar figure. If you are rolling over the full balance, you may need to return the physical annuity contract with the form if the source account is fully liquidated.

Section 3 — Receiving Plan Acceptance. The receiving plan’s custodian or authorized officer signs, certifying the plan is an eligible retirement arrangement and will accept the funds. Your Equitable financial professional or the processing team handles this side when the money is coming into Equitable.

Section 4 — Your Signature. You sign and date, confirming you have taken any required minimum distribution for the year, that you are not rolling over after-tax contributions unless permitted, and that you understand the tax consequences. If you are married and the source plan is an ERISA-covered 403(b), your spouse must consent in writing under the Retirement Equity Act of 1984.

Section 5 — Employer or Plan Administrator Authorization. The employer or plan administrator sponsoring the source plan signs to release the funds. If the receiving account is not an IRA, your current employer may also need to sign.

Notary or Medallion Signature Guarantee

Some distributing institutions require more than a plain signature. Depending on the dollar amount and their policies, they may require a notary public, or a Medallion Signature Guarantee, which is a specialized stamp from a bank, savings institution, or broker-dealer that participates in a recognized medallion program.⁵ A medallion guarantee is not the same as a notary stamp; it carries higher fraud protection and is designed for securities transfers. Not every bank branch can issue one, so call ahead.

Ask the old plan what it requires before you sign anything. A form submitted without a required medallion guarantee comes back, and that adds weeks.

Where to Send It

The EQUI-VEST Processing Office accepts forms at:

Regular mail: Equitable EQUI-VEST Processing Office, P.O. Box 4956, Syracuse, NY 13221
Express or overnight: Equitable EQUI-VEST Processing Office, 100 Madison St., Suite 1000, Syracuse, NY 13202

If you hold a different Equitable product (Retirement Cornerstone, Investment Edge, Structured Capital Strategies, or another series), the mailing address may differ. Confirm on the customer service forms page at equitable.com or by calling (877) 222-2144.¹ Equitable also accepts scanned forms through its online portal for certain products. If you mail physical documents, use certified mail or a tracked service.

Forms received at the processing office before 4:00 PM Eastern Time are effective that business day. Anything later takes effect the next business day.

Timeline and Tracking

After Equitable receives a complete form, it has five business days to process the request. End to end, from submission to funds appearing in your Equitable account, expect two to four weeks. Most of the wait is the old plan liquidating your positions and sending the proceeds.

Watch your Equitable account online. If nothing lands within 30 days, call both institutions. Common causes of delay are a name mismatch between the two accounts, a missing spousal consent, or the old plan holding the release until you take your required minimum distribution.

Once the funds settle, Equitable sends a confirmation showing the deposit amount, the date invested, and which sub-accounts received the money.

The Tax Forms You Will Receive

A properly executed direct rollover generates no tax owed, but the IRS still gets paperwork.

Form 1099-R from the distributing plan reports the distribution. A direct rollover carries distribution code G in Box 7, telling the IRS the money went to another qualified plan or IRA. A Roth-to-Roth direct rollover uses code H. An indirect rollover reports under a standard code (typically 1, 2, or 7 depending on your age), so it looks taxable until you claim the rollover on your return.⁶
Form 5498 from Equitable (or its custodian) reports the rollover contribution, with the amount in Box 2.⁷

On your Form 1040, report the total distribution on line 5a and the taxable amount (zero for a complete rollover) on line 5b. Write “Rollover” next to line 5b.⁸ If you did an indirect rollover and failed to redeposit the full amount within 60 days, the shortfall goes on line 5b as taxable income.

Situations That Complicate the Rollover

Required Minimum Distributions

If you have reached age 73 (the current RMD threshold under SECURE 2.0, rising to 75 for people who turn 73 after December 31, 2032), you must take your RMD for the year before rolling over the rest of the balance.⁹ RMD amounts cannot be rolled over into another tax-deferred account.¹⁰ Take the RMD first, then roll over the rest.

Employer Stock and Net Unrealized Appreciation

If the old plan holds company stock that has grown substantially, rolling it into an IRA may cost you a valuable tax break. Under the net unrealized appreciation (NUA) rules, when you take a lump-sum distribution that includes employer securities, you can exclude the stock’s growth from ordinary income tax at distribution.³ You pay ordinary income tax only on the shares’ original cost basis, and the appreciation is taxed at long-term capital gains rates when you eventually sell. The catch: the stock must be distributed in kind to a taxable brokerage account as part of a qualifying lump-sum distribution. Once it lands in an IRA, the NUA opportunity is gone. Talk to a tax advisor before checking a box that rolls everything.

Rolling Pre-Tax Money into a Roth

Moving pre-tax 401(k) or 403(b) funds into a Roth IRA is a rollover and a Roth conversion at once. The converted amount counts as taxable income in the year of the conversion, and there is no annual conversion limit. Conversions are irrevocable. For people under 59½, each conversion starts its own five-year clock, and withdrawing the converted principal before five years triggers the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty on that portion.⁴ Estimate the tax hit before submitting the form.

Rollovers After Divorce

If retirement funds are being paid out under a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, a spouse or former spouse can roll those funds into an IRA or qualified plan tax-free, using the same direct or indirect mechanics.¹¹ The QDRO itself must name both parties and specify the dollar amount or percentage.

The One-Rollover-Per-Year Limit

The IRS allows only one indirect IRA-to-IRA rollover in any 12-month period.¹² A second indirect rollover in that window is a taxable distribution. The rule does not apply to direct trustee-to-trustee transfers or to rollovers from employer plans into an IRA. If you are consolidating several old accounts into Equitable, use direct rollovers and the limit will not affect you.

1
Equitable. Customer Service and Support Forms
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3405 – Special Rules for Pensions, Annuities, and Certain Other Deferred Income
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 402 – Taxability of Beneficiary of Employees’ Trust
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 72 – Annuities; Certain Proceeds of Endowment and Life Insurance Contracts
5
Investor.gov. Medallion Signature Guarantees: Preventing the Unauthorized Transfer of Securities
6
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498
7
Internal Revenue Service. IRA Contribution Information
8
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 575 – Pension and Annuity Income
9
Congressional Research Service. Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Rules for Original Owners of Retirement Accounts
10
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs
11
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – QDRO: Qualified Domestic Relations Order
12
Internal Revenue Service. Rollover Chart