I have a client that is in his early 60s and retiring later this month. He has about $1.4 million in his 401(k). About $50,000 of his 401(k) is after-tax contributions. I know if he rolls over his entire 401(k) to an IRA, he can move the pre-tax portion of the 401(k) (pre-tax contributions and earnings on after-tax contributions) into his Traditional IRA and his after-tax contributions can be rolled directly into his Roth IRA.

If he wants to leave some or all of the pre-tax portion of his 401(k) inside his 401(k) plan, can he elect to only have the after-tax contributions rolled out of his 401(k) into his Roth IRA? Or can the after-tax contributions in a 401(k) plan only be rolled into a Roth IRA if the entire 401(k) is rolled out of the employer plan?