The government wants you to be informed.
Required Notice & Information Summary
About this notice.
This notice explains how you can continue to defer federal income tax on your retirement plan savings in the Plan and contains important information you will need before you decide how to receive your Plan benefits. All references to “the Code” are references to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. This notice summarizes only the federal (not state or local) tax rules which apply to your distribution. Because these rules are complex and contain many conditions and exceptions which we do not discuss in this notice, you may need to consult with a professional tax advisor before you receive your distribution from the Plan.
This notice summarizes only the federal (not state or local) tax rules that might apply to your payment. The rules described above are complex and contain many conditions and exceptions that are not included in this notice. Therefore, you may want to consult with the Plan Administrator or a professional tax advisor before you take a payment of your benefits from your Plan. Also, you can find more specific information on the tax treatment of payments from qualified employer plans in IRS Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income, and IRS Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements. These publications are available from your local IRS office, on the IRS's Internet Web Site at www.irs.gov, or by calling 1-800-TAX-FORMS.
Rollover.
A rollover is a way for you to take your retirement money without paying taxes. Basically, you are moving it from one retirement account type to another.
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You may choose a direct rollover of all or any portion of an eligible rollover distribution. If you elect a direct rollover, the Plan Administrator will pay the eligible rollover distribution directly to your IRA or to another eligible employer plan (or, in the case of a distribution of Roth deferrals, to a Roth IRA, a Roth 401(k) plan, or a Roth 403(b) plan) which you have designated.
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If you receive a lump-sum distribution and you were born before 1936, you can make a one-time election to figure the tax on the lump-sum distribution under “10-year averaging” using 1986 tax rates. Ten-year averaging often reduces the tax you owe.
If you receive a lump-sum distribution, you were born before 1936 and you were a participant in the Plan before 1974, you may elect to have the part of your lump-sum distribution attributable to your pre-1974 participation taxed as long-term capital gain at a rate of 20%.
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An eligible rollover distribution means any distribution to you of all or any portion of your account balance under the Plan except (1) a distribution which is part of a lifetime series of substantially equal periodic payments; (2) a required minimum distribution; (3) a hardship distribution; (4) an ESOP dividend; (5) a corrective distribution; or (6) a loan treated as a distribution.
After-tax & Roth.
These types have their own tax advantages and you can roll these over as well to keep those perks going.
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You may roll over an eligible rollover distribution that consists of Roth deferrals and earnings (whether or not it is a “qualified” Roth distribution) either: (1) by a direct rollover to another Roth 401(k) plan, or to a Roth 403(b) plan, provided the Roth 401(k) plan or the Roth 403(b) plan will accept the rollover; or (2) by a direct or 60-day rollover to a Roth IRA. Alternatively, you can roll over the taxable portion of a non-qualified Roth distribution by a 60-day rollover to a Roth 401(k) plan or to a 403(b) plan.
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If you roll over after-tax contributions to an IRA, it is your responsibility to keep track of, and report to the IRS on the applicable forms, the amount of these after-tax contributions. This will enable you to determine the nontaxable amount of any future distributions from the IRA. Once you roll over your after-tax contributions to an IRA, you may NOT later roll over those amounts to an employer plan, but may roll over your after-tax contributions to another IRA.
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You may DIRECTLY roll over after-tax contributions from the Plan to another qualified plan (including a defined benefit plan) or to a 403(b) plan if the other plan will accept the rollover and provides separate accounting for amounts rolled over, including separate accounting for the after-tax employee contributions and earnings on those contributions. You may NOT roll over after-tax contributions from the Plan to a §403(a) annuity plan, or to a governmental 457 plan. If you want to roll over your after-tax contributions to an employer plan that accepts these rollovers, you cannot have the after-tax contributions paid to you first. You must instruct the Plan Administrator to make a direct rollover on your behalf. Also, you may not first roll over after-tax contributions to an IRA and then roll over that amount into an employer plan.
Cash.
Taking a cash distribution simply means you are putting it into a personal account rather than rolling (aka transferring) this money to a retirement account type.
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You may elect a direct rollover of all or any portion of an eligible rollover distribution. If you elect a direct rollover, the Plan Administrator will pay the eligible rollover distribution directly to your IRA or to another eligible employer plan (or, in the case of a distribution of Roth deferrals, to a Roth IRA, a Roth 401(k) plan, or a Roth 403(b) plan) which you have designated. Alternatively, for the cash portion of your distribution, if any, the Plan Administrator may give you a check negotiable by the trustee or custodian of the recipient eligible employer plan or IRA. To complete the direct rollover, you must deliver the check to that trustee/custodian. A direct rollover amount is not subject to taxation at the time of the rollover, unless the direct rollover is from a pre-tax account to a Roth IRA. Except for a direct rollover of a pre-tax amount to a Roth IRA, the taxable portion of your direct rollover will be taxed later when you take it out of the IRA or the eligible employer plan. Depending on the type of plan, the later distribution may be subject to different tax treatment than it would be if you received a taxable distribution from this Plan. If you elect a direct rollover, your election form must include identifying information about the recipient IRA or plan.
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The 20% withholding described above does not apply to any taxable portion of your distribution that is not an eligible rollover distribution. You may elect whether to have federal income tax withholding apply to that portion. If you do not wish to have any income taxes withheld on that portion of your distribution, of if you wish to have an amount other than 10% withheld, you will need to sign and date IRS Form W-4P, checking the box opposite line 1. The Plan Administrator will provide you Form W-4P if your distribution includes an amount that does not constitute an eligible rollover distribution. If you do not return the Form W-4P to the Plan Administrator prior to the distribution, the Plan Administrator will treat the failure to return the form as an affirmative election to have 10% withholding apply.
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If your distribution includes Roth (after-tax) 401(k) plan deferrals, the taxation of the Roth deferrals depends on whether or not the distribution is a qualified distribution. For a distribution of Roth deferrals to be a qualified distribution, you must have satisfied two requirements: (1) the distribution must occur on or after the date you attain age 59½, on or after the date of your death, or on account of your being disabled; and (2) the distribution must occur after the end of the 5th calendar year beginning with the first calendar year for which you made Roth deferrals to the Roth 401(k) plan. If the distribution of Roth deferrals is a qualified distribution, then neither the deferrals nor the earnings distributed on the deferrals will be taxable to you. If the distribution is not a qualified distribution, then the portion of the distribution representing your Roth deferrals will not be taxable to you, but the portion of the distribution representing earnings on the Roth deferrals will be taxable to you in the year you receive the distribution unless you elect a direct rollover as described in Section B above, or within 60 days following receipt, you roll over the distribution to a Roth IRA, or you roll-over the earnings on the Roth deferrals to a qualified plan or to a 403(b) plan, as explained under “60-day rollover option” below.
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You still may roll over all or any portion of the distribution to an IRA (including a Roth IRA, subject to the limitations described in Section A) or to another eligible employer plan that accepts rollovers, except to the extent the distribution consists of Roth deferrals and earnings on the Roth deferrals. You may roll over the Roth deferrals and earnings on the Roth deferrals to a Roth IRA, or you may roll over only the taxable earnings (if any) on the Roth deferrals (but not the Roth deferrals) to a Roth 401(k) plan or to a 403(b) plan. If you decide to roll over the distribution, you must make the rollover within 60 days of your receipt of the payment. The portion of your distribution which you elect to roll over generally is not subject to taxation until you receive distributions from the IRA or eligible employer plan. However, see “Taxation of direct rollover of pre-tax distribution to Roth IRA,” above.
You may roll over 100% of your eligible rollover distribution even though the Plan Administrator has withheld 20% of the distribution for income tax withholding. If you elect to roll over 100% of the distribution, you must obtain other money within the 60-day period to contribute to the IRA or eligible employer plan to replace the 20% withheld. If you elect to roll over only the 80% which you receive, the 20% withheld will be subject to taxation.
Example. Assume the taxable portion of your eligible rollover distribution is $5,000, and you do not elect a direct rollover. The Plan pays you $4,000, withholding $1,000 for income taxes. However, assume within 60 days after receiving the $4,000 payment, you decide to roll over the entire $5,000 distribution. To make the rollover, you will roll over the $4,000 you received from the Plan and you will contribute $1,000 from other sources (your savings, a loan, etc.). In this case, you will not have any tax liability with respect to the Plan distribution. The Plan will report a $5,000 distribution for the year and you will report a $5,000 rollover. When you file your income tax return, you may receive a refund of the $1,000 withheld. If you roll over only the $4,000 paid from the Plan, the $1,000 you do not roll over is taxable. In addition, the $1,000 you do not roll over may be subject to a 10% penalty tax. See “10 penalty tax if you are under age 59½” below. When you file your income tax return, you still may receive an income tax refund, but the refund likely will be smaller because $1,000 of the distribution is taxable.