Qualified Retirement Plan Distribution Rules

This practice note addresses retirement plan qualification requirements that relate to plan distributions under the Internal Revenue Code and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). A principal purpose of these rules is to help ensure that the benefits of the plan will be available as a resource for the participant in their retirement or for their beneficiaries. Thus, in addition to governing the payment of benefits to individuals in payment status, they impose limitations on other types of distributions, including in-service distributions, hardship distributions, rollovers, plan loans, and qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) distributions. A summary of plan distribution tax treatment is also provided.