The major benefit of rolling your 401k into a Roth IRA is the fact that you can withdraw money after the age of 59 and a 1/2.

However, the process is not an incredibly simple process.

Essentially this process involves two steps. The catch is that you will have to pay tax on your new Roth IRA. If you are in the 15% tax bracket and roll over $40,000 then you will pay close to $6,000 in taxes. The best thing to do when rolling your 401k over is to pay the tax with your savings or outside income in order to leave your investment in tact and thus keep it growing.