194 / 499
13.
Hardship Withdrawal Contribution Suspension
13.1
The Hardship Withdrawal Suspension Period is defined as the elapsed time
between the Suspension Start Date, defined as the date elective deferral
contributions are prevented from being deposited in the Participating Employee’s
account, as determined by the receipt of the hardship withdrawal information on
the information sharing file received from each Approved Vendor; and the
Suspension End Date, defined as the date elective deferral contributions are
allowed to be deposited in the Participating Employee’s account. The Hardship
Withdrawal Suspension Period is triggered when an Approved Vendor reports
that a hardship withdrawal has been taken via the information sharing data file.
Retirement Manager will notify the Participating Employee of the stop
contribution via email if there is an email address for that Participating Employee
on record
13.2
An auto-generated restart of the contribution will be set up for the next pay date
after the Suspension End Date. Auto restarts will not be generated if a pay date is
not available or if the auto restart function is not selected by the Employer. If
selected, this auto restart can be deleted by the Employer or Participating
Employee. Employer is responsible for maintaining the pay dates and cutoff dates
within Retirement Manager. The contribution amount upon the restart will be the
same amount as the last contribution prior to the Suspension Start Date. The
Employer can override the suspension by sending the contribution to the
Approved Vendor in the normal remittance process.
13.3
Retirement Manager will default to Section 403(b) and/or 401(k) Safe Harbor
plan rules governing hardship withdrawals, which includes the suspension of plan
contributions for a minimum of 6 months from when the hardship withdrawal is
reported. Retirement Manager will stop a contribution from being made to all
Employer plans in Retirement Manager on behalf of a Participating Employee
who has taken a hardship withdrawal, as determined based solely upon data
provided by the Plan’s Approved Vendors in the information sharing file. The
Employer must accept the contribution change stop and make any necessary
changes in its payroll system, unless the Employer elects to disregard a stop and
override the cessation of deferrals as described above. If the Employer overrides a
cessation and a contribution posts to a Participating Employee’s account, then
Employer will be responsible for this action and any consequences as determined
under IRC or other regulatory guidance, including if necessary and appropriate
any Internal Revenue Service self-correction programs. Employer acknowledges
that the accuracy of data used to suspend contributions is based on the most recent
hardship distribution as taken from the Plan as reported from data provided by the
Approved Vendors.
41