Q: I am 62, employed at a company where my only retirement fund is a 401(k) (no pension) and, like many company 401(k) plans, the choice of funds is pretty limited. I also have a rollover IRA brokerage account that I started about 15 years ago after leaving a previous employer. Can I make a withdrawal from my employer’s 401(k) plan and roll it into my IRA brokerage account avoiding any tax liability? The purpose of this move would be to have a wider selection of investments.

— N.P., Cumberland

A: You’re proposing to make what’s technically known as an “in-service withdrawal” from your 401(k) retirement-savings plan at work.

Your strategy will work, provided that your plan allows in-service withdrawals, said Marvin R. Rotenberg, a widely recognized expert on IRAs and other retirement plans.

Some plans do, some don’t, said Rotenberg, director of individual retirement services for Bank of America.

This is an important point to keep in mind. Even though federal law generally allows in-service withdrawals, your plan may not. In such situations, “The plan is the law of the land,” Rotenberg said in an interview at his office in Boston.

So check the official plan paperwork that your employer gave you — such as your summary plan description or plan document. If you can’t find your copy, ask your human resources department or plan administrator.

If your plan has such a provision, arrange for a trustee-to-trustee transfer, so that the plan’s assets go directly from the plan to the IRA. That way, you can be assured that the transfer won’t trigger tax consequences.

What if your plan doesn’t permit in-service withdrawals? One option to consider is limiting the amount you contribute to your 401(k) and instead contributing that amount to a Roth IRA, said Angela M. Thomson, owner of Coastal Financial Planning, a fee-only financial-planning firm in Lincoln.

Before embarking on such a strategy, please keep the following points in mind:

•Consider contributing enough to your 401(k) to qualify for any matching contribution your employer may provide.

•Make sure you’re eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA, said Thomson, who formerly taught retirement planning at Bryant University. In general, you can’t contribute to a Roth IRA if you’re married, file a joint federal income-tax return, and your adjusted gross income is $169,000 or more, or if you’re single and your adjusted gross income is $116,000 or more. (Adjusted gross income is a figure found on your U.S. Form 1040, toward the bottom of the first page.)

•In general, the most you may contribute to a Roth IRA this year is $5,000 (or $6,000 if you’re 50 or older).

•For more about transfers, rollovers, Roth IRA limits and other such issues, see Internal Revenue Service Publication 590, “Individual Retirement Arrangements.” For a free copy, visit your local IRS office, call the IRS toll-free at (800) 829-3676, or use this IRS Web site:

www.irs.gov/formspubs

Q: I’m in my early 60s, retired and partially disabled. I would like to pay off my $110,000 mortgage using money from a traditional IRA. Is there any way I can legally do this without having a massive tax bite?

— C.L., Wakefield

A: Because you’re older than age 59 1/2, withdrawals from your traditional IRA won’t be subject to the 10-percent “early withdrawal” penalty that might otherwise apply, Rotenberg said.

However, the withdrawals will be subject to federal income tax. They’ll also be subject to state income tax, depending on where you live. Rhode Island, for example, follows federal rules in this regard.

By keeping your traditional IRA intact, your account can continue to grow on a tax-deferred basis, Thomson said. And the account may come in handy down the road.

Meanwhile, if you’re squeezed, consider refinancing your mortgage, Thomson said. You may be able to obtain more favorable terms, she said.

Q: I should have received my rebate . . . . I want to know how long before I receive it. . . .

— J.N., Providence

A: The U.S. Treasury late last month began distributing federal economic stimulus payments — also known as rebates — as a result of a new federal law intended to help spur the nation’s flagging economy.

Although progress has been made, there’s still a ways to go.

For example, the Treasury late last week said that it has now issued nearly 52 million rebates, totaling nearly $46 billion. But that’s still less than half of the total to be distributed this year.

So if you haven’t received yours yet, be patient; many more rebates are scheduled to be disbursed.

In general, you may receive a rebate either through “direct deposit” — directly into your bank or credit-union account — or in the form of a Treasury check, by mail.

The Treasury said it has nearly completed direct deposits of rebates, but is still in the early stages of issuing rebate checks.

“Treasury facilities are still also working on completing the mailing of regular tax-refund checks, and thus are not at full capacity for printing and mailing stimulus checks,” the Treasury said in a statement.

“In June, once the regular tax refund mailings are complete, Treasury will print and mail stimulus checks at full capacity and weekly volumes will increase,” the Treasury statement said.

(For various reasons, outlined in earlier MoneyLine columns, it’s possible that you may receive your rebate in the form of a check even though you may have counted on receiving it through direct deposit.)

TODAY’S TIP: The Federal Citizen Information Center has published the summer edition of its consumer information catalog, which lists more than 200 free and low-cost publications.

Among them are “Identity Theft and Your Social Security Number,” “How to Get a Job in the Federal Government,” and “Living Trust Offers.”

For a free copy of the catalog, send your name and address to: Catalog, Pueblo, Colo. 81009, or call the center toll-free at (888) 878-3256, or use the center’s Web site:

www.pueblo.gsa.gov

Questions about your money matters? Call us at (401) 277-7484 and leave a message, or e-mail:

moneyline@projo.com

Whether you phone in or e-mail your question, please be sure to include your name, home town and home phone in case we need to reach you. Sorry, no personal replies; as many questions and issues as possible will appear here.