Although you have the right to transfer the funds in your 401k with a rollover to another plan, or to take it all as a distribution when you terminate employment, you do not have to.

You do not have to take the funds until you retire. I have left a couple of different employers and left my 401k's with them. I recieve statements every quarter and at any time can decide to roll the plans I have with my past employers over to a new employer. If the performance in your current funds are doing well then don't move the money. There is no law that states you have to widthdraw the money from a 401k plan when you leave a particular employer. Leave the money where it is if that is what you want to do. Then, when you retire you can start widthdrawing a monthly amount. The company that handles the 401k is usually a large brokerage, bank or mutual fund company. None of those companies are going anywhere even if your empolyer went out of business your money is in a fund with an outside company. Leave it until you need it.

You can leave your fund with your 401K plan. You have to watch out the required minimum distribution begining age 70 1/5. Your 401K vandor will be happy to help you with that. You must include all your retirement assets at the time. ex. your IRAs to calculate the distribution.

The answer to your question depends on your account balance.

If your balance is less than $1000, you can be forced out of the plan by the plan sponsor, depending on the provisions of your plan document. You can determine if this is true for your plan by looking at the Summary Plan Description. If you don't have a copy of that you can get one from the plan sponsor. This is a relatively new process but most plans have a process in place to make these distributions happen so that they don't end up with many small balance accounts of terminated employees for long periods of time.

If you have more than $1000, it is your right to keep the funds in the plan as long as you with with the following exception. You will have to begin taking distributions in the year you turn 70.5. Your record keeper will help you to calculate the required minimum distribution. This is basically so that Uncle Sam can start getting his tax money back from you rather than you sitting on hit until you're 90. However, since you stated that you are only 60 and only want to keep the money there until 2012, you will make your distribution way before you reach this age, so this would not apply to this 401(k) plan.

To sum up, if you have more than $1000, you can leave it until 2012. If you have less, the plan might (but might not) force your money out of the plan.