MY woek pension plan was frozen and know it is finally being terminated with up being bought out of the plan, does anyone know if I can take the whole amount and roll it into a roth ira and if I can do I pay the 10% penalty the amount of the buy out is about 15,000.00 thank for any help

You should read IRS Publications 575 and 590 http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/lists/0,,id=97817,00.html

BTW, call 1-800-tax-form to order a paper copy.

What pax said and …

…Assets from a pension ( or other qualified) plan cannot be rolled directly to a Roth IRA. The assets must first be rolled to a traditional IRA and then converted ( from the traditional IRA) to the Roth IRA. To be eligible for a Roth IRA conversion, your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI)must be $100,000 or less and your tax filing status must not be “married filing separately”. For purposes of determining Roth conversion eligibility, the conversion amount is not included in your MAGI