How will I access my 401k from the UK?

Greetings all. Long time reader, first time poster.

Ok, so here's the deal. US Citizen married to British National, in the process of moving to London in October 2007.

I will be taking my current Employer 401k and rolling it over into a IRA. The question is that when I reach retirement age (a good 30+ years from now), how will I be able to access my IRA? For example, will Fidelity or whomever I go with, wire transfer my funds to my UK bank account, etc.? I don't want to have an issue where I will be required to be in the US to access my funds.

I've emailed some of the IRA providers but have not heard back yet. Hoping on of you find, educated people will be able to shed some light on this matter.

Thank you.

-Mehdi

You need not be in the USA to take a withdrawal from an IRA.  An IRA withdrawal can be in the form of a cheque mailed to you, wired funds, or bank transfer (to a US bank).  Many people with significant assets in the US will have a US bank account to facilitate moving funds around. 

The options available in 30 years may well be very different from what you have now.  Pick the best IRA provider you can find without worrying about this now.  Instead, pick up the worry about how to physically remove funds between 2 and 5 years before you reach retirement age.

When I got a disbursement from my Dad's IRA after he died, I had it deposited into a US bank account. I do all my transactions with that account online.