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How to Open a Schwab Account with Your Solo 401k
How to Open a Schwab Account with Your Solo 401k
Rachel Nabers avatar
Written by Rachel Nabers
Updated over a week ago


Each brokerage house is different in how they classify their investment-only accounts and applications can update at any time. We have made our best efforts to provide you the most up to date applications here, but please check with Schwab to ensure you have the right application to open an investment-only brokerage account under your Solo 401k plan and trust.

It's important to remember you're not opening a Schwab 401k. Rather, your 401k plan and trust are opening an investment-only account with Schwab.

Schwab calls these types of accounts "Company Retirement accounts" and they are designed to work with your Solo 401k.

Let's walk through various scenarios on opening your Schwab account, be it rolling over funds from a non-Schwab institution or starting fresh with rollovers, rolling over a Schwab 401k into the new Solo 401k Schwab account or rolling over a Schwab IRA into the new Solo 401k Schwab account.

Open Schwab investment account: No rollovers

If you're simply opening the new investment-only account with Schwab to get into traditional equities, then all you need to to is open the Schwab Company Retirement Account under the name and Tax ID Number of your new Solo 401k. 

Fund your Schwab account with new contributions, calculated from your business income and you're ready to go.

Complete the Company Retirement plan application:  Download application here

Include your complete Adoption Agreement and trust document. These documents can be found in your 401k documents, located on your 401k dashboard.

Note: It is not required you fund the account when submitting the Company retirement account application. 

Fax your application to Schwab at 888-526-7252, Attn: new accounts.

If You and Your Spouse are Each Opening a Schwab Account

If you and your spouse are each opening the new investment-only account with Schwab to get into traditional equities, then you'll open the Company Retirement Account Master Account as well as participant sub-accounts (one for each of you).

Each participant will keep his money separate in his own Schwab participant account under the master account for the Company retirement account. You'll each have a distinct login and keep the Schwab funds separate.

Complete the Company Retirement plan application:  Download application here

Include your complete Adoption Agreement and Trust Agreement. These documents can be found in your 401k documents, located on your 401k dashboard.

Complete one Participant application per spouse:  Download participant application here

Rollovers into the Schwab account from another Schwab account

If you're opening the new investment-only account with Schwab so you can transfer funds from a pre-existing Schwab IRA or Schwab 401k account, the please follow the transfer/rollover tips below.

There are different procedures for rolling in IRA funds or 401k funds. Let's cover rolling in IRA funds first.

Open Schwab investment account: Rolling Over from a Schwab IRA

  1. Open a Company retirement account (application here). Include your complete Adoption Agreement and Trust Agreement. These documents can be found in your 401k documents, located on your 401k dashboard.

  2. Complete the Schwab IRA distribution form (click here to open form)

    In section 2, mark that you're completing a direct rollover to a qualified retirement plan:

In section 3, you should not need to have taxes withheld as this is a direct rollover from one qualified retirement plan to another:

In section 5, notate the funds will go to another Schwab account:


Fax your application and documents to Schwab at 888-526-7252, Attn: new accounts.

Note: It is not required you fund the account when establishing the Company retirement account. Additionally, you can submit your transfer documents rolling over funds while you establish the new Company retirement account.

The above steps will accomplish  opening a new Company retirement account, withdrawing the funds from the Schwab IRA, transferring them to the new Company retirement account with Schwab and then accepting the rollover as your own plan administrator.

Open Schwab investment account: Rolling Over from a Schwab 401k

Note about Schwab Individual 401k plans rolling into any other retirement plan: You must have had the Schwab 401k at least 2 years to roll the funds into another retirement account. It may be possible to take a 100% rollover/distribution if you are terminating the Schwab 401k plan.

Remember, with a Schwab 401k plan, they are the trustee, not you. With your new Nabers Solo 401k, you have full trustee authority. Most new Nabers Solo 401k clients will terminate the Schwab 401k plan to regain control of your retirement funds, and then roll the entire amount into the Schwab Company Retirement Plan which is owned by your new Nabers Solo 401k plan, which gives you ultimate control over your retirement funds!

  1. Open a Company retirement account (application here). Include the first 4 pages of your Adoption Agreement and your trust document. These documents can be found in your 401k documents, located on your 401k dashboard.

  2. Complete the Schwab 401k distribution form (click here to open form)

In section 4, the payment option can be a direct rollover distribution in a lump sum:

In section 5, notate the funds will go be a direct rollover and input your new Schwab Company Retirement account number:

Fax your application to Schwab at 888-526-7252, Attn: new accounts.

If you have any questions on completing your Company retirement account application, please contact Schwab at 800-435-4000.


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