The Internal Revenue Service has released rules governing rollovers of funds from private, non-profit and governmental retirement plans into designated Roth IRAs within the same savings plan.

Such rollovers from 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b) accounts were expanded this year to be open to any vested funds in a retirement plan that allowed them, but companies were awaiting clarification of the rules. Rolling funds into an IRA allows a plan participant to pay taxes now and withdraw the money tax free during retirement.

Rolling funds from a retirement plan account to a designated Roth was first allowed by law in 2010. Restrictions that limited when funds could be rolled over were removed in a bill passed last year by Congress. The changes went into effect Jan. 1, 2013.