A rollover, such as a retirement plan rollover, often happens when an individual switches jobs or leaves employment. One can transfer the assets of one retirement plan to a new retirement plan and maintain the tax-deferred status of the account. Rollovers are either direct (in which the assets are moved directly to the new account from the original account) or indirect (in which the assets are transferred to the employee, who then has 60 days to deposit them to a new account).