Once Principal Financial Group has been notified of your exiting employment with Reliant, you will generally have a 60 day window to select what you would like Principal to do with your 401(k) balance. 

The Principal Client Contact Center 1-800-547-7754 can advise you of your options.  They are available Monday-Friday from 7:00am Eastern time to 9:00pm Eastern time. 

You have 3 Options: Roll it Over, Stay with Principal, Cash it out.   

If you do not make a selection in that 60 day window Principal will do one of 2 things:

• If the balance in the 401K account is greater than $5,000 - Principal will automatically roll your 401K account into an IRA account with Principal 
• If the balance in the 401K account is less than $5,000 - Principal will generally cut you a distribution check for the balance in the account, minus a reserve of taxes,.
  In this scenario you will receive a 1099 from Principal at the end of the year and will have to report the distribution on your taxes.  This option comes with a tax penalty for early withdrawal of retirement funds, so you do NOT have to cash this check.  *see below for details.