I've recently had to leave my job of 15 years and apply for LTD.

I have been contributing to my 401K for years and need to roll it over into an IRA. If I just close out my 401K I will take a huge hit on penalties for early withdrawl. I was told by Fidelity that an IRA was my best bet because I can put the money into a money market account and have access to it while still keeping it safe in a conservative account. And no penalties for withdrawl - I will have to pay taxes on anything I take out, though.

My question is - can I qualify for LTD and subsequently SSDI if I have this money? Should I just withdraw all of it and put it in my regular checking account? I just plan on leaving it there for emergency use if I need it.

I've never been good at making financial decisions by myself - and this time is no different. Since I now need every penny I can get my hands on I don't want to do something stupid and lose any of it.

There's a lot of smart people on this board - I need your help!