how do I know if I'm paying fees on my IRA?

[KellyJef]

This is probably a really dumb question, but I'm going to ask it anyway.

I rolled my 401K into an IRA with Charles Schwab about 4 years ago when I took early retirement at age 55 and have not added a penny to this account since I am no longer working.

In those 4 years, I've gotten monthly statements. It never occurred to me that Schwab might be charging me fees on this acccount. I have a statement that I received today and I don't see anywhere on it anything about a fee.

How would Schwab make money on my account?

[Ima saver]

It is not a dumb question, but I don't know anything about schwab. Why don't you call and ask? I guess They are collecting interest on your money in their bank???

[disneysteve]

You can't just look at one statement. Pull out all statement from the past 12 months. An account fee might be charged quarterly or annually.

Often, there is a fee until your account balance reaches a certain minimum specificed by the company.

I don't know the specifics of your account, but if you can't find an answer by reviewing your statements, just give them a call.

[creditcardfree]

If this is a mutual fund, there are several types of fees that could be charged. These can be found on first inside page of the prospectus. There are management fees, 12b-1 fees (for advertising), as well as account maintenence fees. There may also be a commission fee...sometimes called a load, depending of the class of shares. These are all described in the proscpectus.

Commissions or loads are charged only when bought or sold depending on the share class.

Maintenence fees and 12b-1's are subtracted(behind the scenes) daily on mutual funds after determining the full value of the shares for the day. The net effect is the Net Asset Value of the share that day.

Account maintenence fees are generally subtracted quarterly. Depending on the value of the account there may be no fee of this type.

As a former customer service agent for a mutual fund, my best advise is to call and ask based on your specific information. Reading the prospectus is also very important. That's where the customer service reps get their information!!!

Hope that helps!