To move money into a new Paychex-managed 401(k), you fill out the Paychex Employee Rollover Form and send it to Paychex Retirement Services while separately asking your old plan administrator to release the funds. To move money out of a Paychex 401(k) after leaving your employer, you don’t use that same form — you start the request through the Paychex Flex portal or by calling Paychex directly. The Paychex 401(k) rollover form specifically refers to the inbound version, and submitting it alone does not start the transfer; the release from your old plan is a separate call you have to make.
Filling Out the Paychex Employee Rollover Form
The Employee Rollover Form is what you use when funds are coming into a Paychex-administered plan from a prior employer. You can download it from Paychex or request a copy from your new employer’s HR department.
The form asks for four categories of information:
- Participant information: your Social Security number, contact details, and current employer.
- Prior plan details: the name and account number at your distributing institution, and whether the funds are pre-tax traditional 401(k) or designated Roth contributions.
- Roth contribution data, if applicable: the total cost basis and the start date of your five-year aging period. Pull this from your most recent statement from the old plan, or ask that plan’s administrator directly.
- Investment allocations: how you want the incoming balance distributed among the investment options in your new Paychex plan.
Submitting the completed form to Paychex is only half the job. You must separately contact your prior plan administrator to initiate the release of funds to Paychex. Do both at the same time rather than waiting for one to finish, because the two processes run in parallel.1Paychex. Employee Rollover Form
Where to Send the Form
Paychex accepts the completed form three ways:
- Tracked mail (FedEx, UPS, or USPS Certified) goes to: PNC Bank C/O Paychex Retirement Services, Attn: Lockbox 844815, 20 Commerce Way, Suite 800, Woburn, MA 01801-1057.
- Regular mail goes to: Paychex Retirement Services, PO Box 844815, Boston, MA 02284-4815.
- Fax: 585-389-7878.
The two addresses are not interchangeable. Sending certified or overnight mail to the PO Box will cause the package to be returned to you, so use the Woburn street address for anything with a courier. If faxing, keep the confirmation page and check that every page transmitted clearly.1Paychex. Employee Rollover Form
Rolling Money Out of a Paychex 401(k)
If you’re leaving an employer whose plan Paychex administers, the process starts inside the Paychex Flex portal or with a phone call to Paychex. Federal law requires every qualified plan to allow a direct rollover to another eligible retirement plan, so once you’ve separated from the employer and the funds are vested, Paychex must honor the request.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 401 – Qualified Pension, Profit-Sharing, and Stock Bonus Plans
Have this information ready before you start:
- Your Social Security number and the legal name of the former employer that sponsored the plan.
- The Paychex plan ID, which appears on your account statements and the Paychex Flex dashboard.
- The receiving custodian’s full legal name, your account number there, and the mailing address for their rollover processing center.
- The exact payee format the receiving institution wants on the check. For a direct rollover the check is made payable to the new custodian, not to you — commonly written as something like “Fidelity Investments FBO [Your Name].” Confirm the exact wording with the receiving firm before Paychex cuts the check. Getting this wrong delays or rejects the transfer.
Paychex will ask you to specify whether the rollover is direct or indirect and the destination account type. You’ll also sign an acknowledgment of the tax consequences. Paychex typically mails a physical check to the receiving institution, so confirm the delivery method and track the shipment.
Direct Rollover vs. Indirect Rollover
This is the single most consequential choice on the paperwork. A direct rollover moves funds straight from Paychex (or your old plan) to the new custodian; you never touch the money, no federal income tax is withheld, and the check is written to the receiving institution.
An indirect rollover sends the money to you first. Your plan must withhold 20% for federal income taxes before it pays you, and you cannot opt out of that withholding.3Internal Revenue Service. Pensions and Annuity Withholding
You then have 60 days from the date you receive the distribution to deposit the full original amount — including the 20% that was withheld — into an eligible retirement account. You have to cover that withheld 20% from your own pocket to make the deposit whole. Deposit only the 80% you received, and the missing 20% is taxed as a distribution. Miss the 60-day window entirely and the whole amount is taxable, plus a 10% early withdrawal penalty if you’re under 59½.4Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Exceptions to Tax on Early Distributions
Choose direct whenever it’s available.
Where the Money Can Go
Pre-tax 401(k) money from a Paychex plan can roll into:
- A traditional IRA. The most common choice, with no tax consequence on the transfer itself.
- A new employer’s 401(k), if that plan accepts rollovers.
- A 403(b) or governmental 457(b), if the receiving plan agrees to accept the rollover.
- A Roth IRA. Permitted, but the entire pre-tax amount becomes taxable income for the year of the conversion.
- A SEP-IRA or SIMPLE IRA. A SIMPLE IRA must have been open at least two years to receive the rollover.
Designated Roth 401(k) contributions can only roll into a Roth IRA, not a traditional IRA, and any nontaxable amounts must move by direct trustee-to-trustee transfer.5Internal Revenue Service. Rollover Chart
The IRS one-rollover-per-year rule does not apply to 401(k)-to-IRA rollovers; it restricts only IRA-to-IRA transfers. A recent IRA rollover elsewhere doesn’t block a Paychex 401(k) rollover to an IRA.5Internal Revenue Service. Rollover Chart
Situations That Change What You File
Outstanding 401(k) Loan
If you leave your employer with an unpaid loan balance, that balance is typically offset against your vested account, and the offset amount is treated as a taxable distribution. Under 59½, the 10% early withdrawal penalty applies as well.
You can neutralize the tax by rolling over a cash amount equal to the loan offset into an IRA or new plan. If the offset happened because you separated from employment (or the plan terminated), it counts as a Qualified Plan Loan Offset, and the deadline to make that contribution is your tax filing due date for the year of the offset, including extensions, rather than 60 days.6Internal Revenue Service. Plan Loan Offsets
If the loan already went into default before you started the rollover (a “deemed distribution” on the plan’s records), that amount cannot be rolled over. Check the loan status with Paychex before you initiate anything.
Spousal Consent
If your Paychex plan is subject to the qualified joint and survivor annuity rules and you’re married, your spouse must consent in writing before you can take a distribution in any form other than a joint annuity. The consent has to acknowledge the effect of the election and be witnessed by either a plan representative or a notary public.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 417 – Definitions and Special Rules for Purposes of Minimum Survivor Annuity Requirements
Many 401(k) plans are exempt, provided the plan offers no life annuity option, names the spouse as the full beneficiary, and hasn’t received transfers from a plan that was subject to the annuity rules. Check with Paychex or your plan’s Summary Plan Description to confirm which category applies.
Required Minimum Distributions
If you’re 73 or older and no longer working for the plan sponsor, your required minimum distribution for the year cannot be rolled over. Take the RMD as a taxable distribution first, then roll over what remains.8Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-B – Distributions From Individual Retirement Arrangements If you’re still employed by the plan sponsor and don’t own 5% or more of the business, RMDs can be delayed until the year you actually retire, but they start once you separate.
Timeline and What to Watch
Paychex says a direct rollover typically takes two to four weeks from start to finish, covering administrative review, liquidation of investments, issuance of the check, and mailing to the receiving institution.9Paychex. What Is a 401(k) Rollover – Quick Guide for Employers Incomplete forms or wrong payee information add more time.
Once the check ships, standard mail adds several business days. Call the receiving firm about a week after the expected arrival to confirm the funds posted. If the check hasn’t arrived within two weeks of issuance, call Paychex to verify the mail date and request a replacement if needed. For rollovers into a Paychex plan, processing depends on both Paychex receiving your form and your old plan releasing the money, so start both sides simultaneously.
Tax Reporting the Following Year
Whoever paid out the money — your old plan or Paychex — will issue IRS Form 1099-R for the year of the distribution. For a direct rollover, Box 7 should show distribution code G, indicating the money went straight to another eligible plan and is not taxable.10Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498
Report the gross distribution on your return; the taxable amount should be zero when the rollover was handled correctly. If the code is wrong — for instance, code 1 for an early distribution instead of code G — call Paychex immediately for a corrected form. Filing with an incorrect 1099-R can trigger an IRS notice that takes months to unwind.
If you took an indirect rollover and completed the deposit within 60 days, the 1099-R will still show the full gross distribution and the 20% withholding. Claim the rollover on your return and recover the withheld amount as a credit, assuming you deposited the full original amount (making up the 20% from your own funds) into the receiving account in time.