Frequently Asked Questions

IRS regulations prevent taking a distribution if the private employer organization or your participating employer still employs you. Once you terminate your employment, and separate from both your employer and payroll company/plan sponsor/PEO, you may withdraw your vested balance.

There are several options for withdrawals while you are still employed. The list below provides a description for each.

Loans

Taking out a loan simply means borrowing money from your 401(k). You pay yourself back, with interest (based on the current interest rate). Loan payments are taken directly out of your paycheck. The maximum that you can borrow from your 401(k) is 50% of your vested balance, up to $50,000. The minimum that you can borrow is $1000, which requires a vested balance of at least $2000. If you should terminate your employment, you have 60 days to payoff loan. If you fail to pay back the loan, the outstanding loan balance will be subject to current income taxes as well as a 10% early withdrawal penalty. Taking out a loan from your 401(k) does not require a credit check.

Hardship

If you cannot take out a loan, you may qualify for financial hardship. Proof of hardship occurring in the past 12 months and the amount owed are required. Once a hardship withdrawal is approved, your normal retirement contributions are stopped for six months. It is your responsibility to start contributions again. When it comes to this type of withdrawal, you are only eligible to withdraw from contributions you have made to your 401(k) (EE deferrals), not your employer’s match.

According to the IRS, a hardship withdrawal is permitted for the following reasons:

• Medical expenses not covered by insurance for the participant, the participant’s spouse the participant’s dependents or the participant’s primary beneficiary.>
• Costs directly related to the purchase of a principal residence (not including mortgage payments) for the participant. A renovation or remodeling is not a sufficient reason for this requirement. The residence may not be for a family member or for a second or vacation home, but must be the primary residence of the participant.
• Payments for tuition, related educational fees and room and board expenses, for the next 12 months of postsecondary education for the participant, the participant’s spouse, the participant’s children, the participant’s dependents or the participant’s primary beneficiary.
• Payments to prevent eviction from the participant’s principal residence, or to prevent foreclosure on the mortgage on principal residence.
• Payments for burial or funeral expenses for the participant’s deceased parent, spouse, children, dependents or the participant’s primary beneficiary.
• Expenses related to damage to a principal residence that would qualify for a casualty deduction under section 165, without the limitations in section 165(h)(5).
• Expenses incurred as a result of FEMA declared disaster, provided the participant’s principal place of employment or residence is located in the disaster area.

In-service Distribution

When an active employee reaches age 59 ½ the plan may offer an in‐service withdrawal option of participants elective deferrals and/or employer contributions. The Slavic401k plan document allows for in‐service withdrawal once a month during a plan year (effective January 1, 2019). An employee can withdraw his/her elective deferrals, matching and profit sharing contributions if 100% vested. Employees have an option to do a direct rollover of this withdrawal. If the withdrawal is not directly rolled over, the distribution will be subject to 20% federal income tax (unless the distribution is coming from a Roth 401(k)). No 10% penalty applies.

Unrelated Source Distribution

An unrelated source distribution, often referred to as an unrelated rollover distribution, comes from funds that were rolled over from a previous employer. Participants can request a distribution from these funds at any time. Any distributions taken to yourself will be subject to a mandatory 20% federal income tax (unless they are coming from a Roth portion). You may be subject to a 10% early withdrawal penalty if you are under the age of 59 ½. If you chose to roll over these funds directly into another 401(k) or IRA, no taxes or penalties apply.

Exchange orders submitted before 4 p.m. EST and are traded the same day on a best effort basis. Exchange orders submitted by fax, mail, or via internet after 4 p.m. EST will be traded the next business day. The next business day policy is guaranteed only if the mutual fund companies and clearing broker involved settle the trade by the next business day (T+1) or if less than 2,500,000,000 shares are traded on the NASDAQ exchange on the day you place your order or on the day after. If trading volume on the NASDAQ exceeds the limit or the outside parties cannot settle the trade as specified, your order will be processed on a best efforts basis and Slavic401k will not be responsible for the timing, only the accuracy of your trade. This policy is not effective for John Hancock, Lincoln, or Deutsche plans and those participants will continue to make trade requests directly to those companies. The above policy is still subject to the 14 day error notification policy following the mailing of your statement. To receive compensation for any trading error, you must notify Slavic401k in a timely fashion to allow for correction to minimize damages, if any.

Effective immediately, all Vanguard funds, with the exception of the Money Market funds, Short-Term Federal and Short-Term Bond Index, restrict participants from transferring out of a fund and back into the same fund within 30 days.

If you withdraw money from your 401(k) account before age 59 ½, you must pay a 10% early withdrawal penalty in addition to income tax on the distribution. For someone in the 24% tax bracket, a $5,000 early 401(k) withdrawal will cost $1,700 in taxes and penalties.

If you are not taking an early withdrawal, you only pay income taxes on the distribution. The amount of taxes you pay is subject to your individual income tax bracket. View IRS tax brackets here.

When you withdraw your balance from a retirement account, a portion of the money is required to be sent to the IRS for taxes on your distribution. This is called tax withholding.

If you are requesting a distribution from your account, you may want to consider how tax withholding will impact the payment you receive.

A net or gross distribution refers to the way that taxes are applied to a payment.

• Net is the amount of cash remaining after all taxes have been applied.
• Gross is the amount of cash before any taxes have been applied.

For more information on this topic, please read What is a Net vs. Gross Distribution in our Support Center.