Rolling over those IRAs.

• Position: Individual Retirement Accounts

Your retirement money may be the largest sum you ever receive. Understanding your choices for managing it will help you make the most of your savings.

You've spent years building your savings in your employer's retirement program, and now, with the tax law effective January 1993, you need to decide whether to roll over to another qualified retirement plan or switch to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) right away.

Retirement is only one reason you may be eligible for a distribution. Others are:

* You are changing jobs.

* You have been laid off.

* You work for a company that has changed ownership or has merged.

* Your company's retirement plan has been terminated.

* You are self-employed and terminating your Keogh or Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan.

* You are the beneficiary of your spouse's retirement plan at his or her death.

* You have become permanently disabled.

Whatever your reason for receiving a distribution, your primary concern will be to avoid unnecessary taxation.

A qualified plan is one that meets certain criteria of the Internal Revenue Code regarding tax reporting, participant eligibility and benefits offered. Most corporations offer some form of qualified retirement plan, and many allow you to participate in more than one plan. These plans may include:

* a pension plan,

* a thrift plan,

* a profit-sharing plan,

* a stock ownership plan (ESOP), or

* a salary-deferral plan (401K).

Other types of employer-sponsored plans include SEPs, Keoghs (if you're self-employed) and tax-sheltered annuities (403 [b]).

There are many ways to manage your retirement money, each with its own tax ramifications. Your first major decision will be whether to keep your money in a tax-sheltered plan or take it immediately and pay taxes on it. For most people, deferring tax on their money by keeping it in a qualified plan is more advantageous. But you may be among those who would benefit more from an immediate distribution of your assets. Consider if the choices below are right for your situation.

TAX-SHELTERING YOUR MONEY

Retaining the tax-sheltered status of retirement is a popular choice, especially for those whose working careers will continue. There are several kinds of tax-sheltered plans that may be available to you. But to avoid the 20 percent withholding tax, you must roll over your money directly into one of these plans. If you take a check from your employer, you have 60 days to deposit the check and an amount equal to the...