Employer Administrative Elections - Rules for Hardship Distributions

The following administrative elections record Washington and Lee University's ("the University") elections/rules regarding hardship distributions from its Defined Contribution Plan, effective January 1, 2019.

a. Hardship distributions are permitted to the extent allowed by the Adoption Agreement and the Individual Agreement.
b. All hardship distributions must comply with Treasury Regulation Section 1.401(k)-1(d)(3), conforming to the safe harbor need/purpose and safe harbor necessity/amount rules, as provided for in Section 6.07 of the Basic Plan Document.
c. Hardship requests are not limited to one per year unless the applicable funding vehicle (Individual Agreement) imposes such a limitation.
d. Contracts cannot be surrendered for financial hardship. Only employee contributions may be withdrawn.
e. All hardship distributions are reported on Form 1099R to the Internal Revenue Service.
f. Participants making a hardship request must retain documentation to support the claim of a financial hardship and provide such documentation as required by the University in reviewing the hardship request.
g. The University and TIAA or Fidelity will exchange information to the extent necessary to implement hardship provisions.
h. The conditions for hardship distributions are available here.
i. Hardship requests require the advance authorization of the University.