I resigned from my current work place where i have a DB and DC component of pension. I joined the DB plan Jan 1 this year and my last day here will be in mid June, so i would have only been on the DB plan for 6.5 months and thus will be a relatively small amount.
New company has a DC/DB as well (although i won't be on the DB right away), but in the info package they clearly state that i can't transfer my current DC into the new company's DC.
So my options for what to do with the DC are:
1. Leave it in the current company's plan, currently managed by Sun Life. I assume i could still use my old company's funds choices (they are actually pretty good with low fees)
2. Transfer to Sun Life Group Choices Plan. Need to look up details on this
3. Transfer DC balance to another financial institution. I assume this is only if the new company allows transfers into the DC which mine DOES NOT.
4. Transfer DC balance to a LIRA
I'm leaning towards option 4 to put into a LIRA, but i'm trying to figure out what exactly i can do in a LIRA. Can I open a LIRA that is essentially a full trading account where i can buy/sell equities? Or does it have to be a "limited" type of account where i can only buy certain lower risk funds? I certainly won't be very risky in this account compared to my other investment accounts, so if i can buy normal equities, I probably will end up just buying some Vanguard ETFs. I bank with BMO so i would be looking to open a LIRA with them most likely in case that matters.
Anyone else gone through something like this recently and can comment on what you did and your thought process? Are there any major differences between which FI i choose to open the LIRA?