Withdrawals, Rollovers and Loans

You should read the Summary Plan Description that was provided to you as a participant in your employer’s plan to learn whether your employer’s plan allows either withdrawals or loans (or both) and if there are any restrictions imposed by the plan or the IRS on either. If you have questions or are not sure about the features of your employer’s plan, please contact us.

As a reminder, your employer established a retirement savings plan to enable and encourage you to save for retirement. Although the plan may contain an in-service withdrawal or loan provision, Mutual of America does not encourage participants to take in-service withdrawals or loans, and your plan savings are not intended to be used for current expenses. When available, in-service withdrawals are generally taxed as ordinary income (and may be assessed a 10% tax penalty if taken before age 59½, or for SIMPLE IRA withdrawals, a 25% tax penalty if taken before age 59½ and within the first two years of participation). And, there are participant charges for loans and loan servicing. There may be significant adverse tax consequences to participants who do not repay loans on a timely basis. Failing to repay loans may have a negative impact on your ability to meet your retirement savings goals. We encourage you to evaluate these issues carefully before requesting a withdrawal or applying for a loan.

If you need access to money before you retire, you should carefully consider and exhaust your other options before making a decision to take an in-service withdrawal or loan from your retirement savings.

With that, we have provided a general explanation of the difference between a withdrawal and a loan. The provisions of your employer’s plan may be different than the descriptions we provide here. Again, you should read the Summary Plan Description that was provided to you by your employer as a participant in your employer’s plan to learn about the withdrawal and loan provisions, if any, offered through that plan.

In-Service Withdrawals from an Employer-Sponsored Plan

An in-service withdrawal allows you to take money from your employer’s plan, while you are still employed, without having to pay the money back. Unless the in-service withdrawal is on account of an immediate and heavy financial need (otherwise known as a “hardship distribution”), your plan can not permit in-service distributions of elective deferrals (i.e., the money you have contributed to the plan from your paycheck), or certain other types of contributions, prior to age 59½. If your plan permits in-service withdrawals, you will be able to request a withdrawal of certain employer contributions, any funds you may have rolled over from another plan or IRA and any designated Roth contributions.* You will have to pay ordinary income taxes on a withdrawal amount (unless from your Roth account), and a 10% early withdrawal penalty if you take the withdrawal prior to age 59½, unless an exception applies.

*If the Roth distribution does not meet certain rules, earnings will be taxable. Nonqualified Roth distributions must contain pro rata share of earnings and basis.↵

Early Withdrawals from an Employer-Sponsored Plan

If you are younger than age 59½ and do not qualify for a hardship withdrawal, you will incur an additional 10% income tax penalty, unless an exception applies. See https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-tax-on-early-distributions for applicable exceptions.

Hardship Withdrawals from an Employer-Sponsored Plan

A hardship withdrawal is made because of an immediate and heavy financial need and is limited to the amount necessary to satisfy that financial need. You pay ordinary income tax on the amount withdrawn and do not have to pay the withdrawal back. You may also have to pay a 10% penalty tax if you are younger than 59½ or do not meet an exception.

You are not automatically eligible for a hardship distribution. Your employer must first approve any hardship withdrawal and make sure your request meets the rules under the Internal Revenue Code and Internal Revenue Service regulations. Generally, an immediate and heavy financial need results from:

• Medical care expenses for you, your spouse, dependents or beneficiary.
• Tuition, related educational fees, and room and board expenses for the next 12 months of postsecondary education for you or your spouse, children, dependents or beneficiary.
• Costs directly related to the purchase of your principal residence (excluding mortgage payments).
• Payments necessary to prevent the eviction of you from your principal residence or foreclosure on the mortgage on that residence.
• Certain expenses to repair damage to the employee’s principal residence.
• Funeral expenses for you, your spouse, children, dependents or beneficiary.
• Any other expense specified by the Internal Revenue Service.

For ERISA Group Annuity Plans

To initiate a hardship withdrawal from an ERISA Group Annuity Plan, please download, complete and submit the appropriate Withdrawal Request Form provided here:

DOWNLOAD HARDSHIP WITHDRAWAL FOR ERISA GROUP ANNUITY PLAN – 6663

For Non-ERISA Group Annuity Plans

To initiate a hardship withdrawal from a non-ERISA Group Annuity Plan, please download, complete and submit the appropriate Withdrawal Request Form provided here:

DOWNLOAD HARDSHIP WITHDRAWAL FOR NON-ERISA GROUP ANNUITY PLAN – 7223

Reminder: Forms 6663 and 7223 are only for plans that permit hardship withdrawals. Contact your Plan Administrator if you need to confirm whether your plan permits hardship withdrawals.

Rollovers into an Employer-Sponsored Plan

Your employer's plan may accept rollovers from accounts you have with former employers or IRAs with different financial institutions.

You may be able to save time, money and effort by transferring your retirement savings from other retirement plans or IRAs into your Mutual of America retirement plan account. You will receive one convenient quarterly statement, and you can manage your account anytime.

Before making a rollover or transfer, you should review the accounts you have with other providers to determine the fees and expenses you currently pay and whether there are any surrender charges that may result and to ensure that it is in your best interest to transfer your other accounts to your current retirement plan account.

Loans from an Employer-Sponsored Plan

A loan enables you to borrow money from your retirement savings and pay it back over time, with interest. Like most loans, you will have to pay interest until the loan is paid back in full; however, the payments and interest will go back into your retirement savings account. In most cases, such as with a 401(k) or 403(b) plan, loans must be paid back within a certain period (usually five years), and in some cases, may require consent from a spouse or partner, depending on your domestic status and plan type.

As mentioned previously, there may be significant adverse tax consequences to participants who do not repay loans on a timely basis. Failing to repay loans may have a negative impact on your ability to meet your retirement savings goals.

Start a Withdrawal or Rollover from an Employer-Sponsored Plan

Group Annuity Retirement Plans

Before you initiate a withdrawal or rollover from an employer-sponsored retirement plan that is subject to spousal consent and is funded by a group annuity contract, please complete the following steps:

1. Review the Summary Plan Description that was provided to you as a participant in your employer’s plan to learn:
   • Whether your employer’s plan allows for withdrawals or rollovers;
   • If the plan does allow for withdrawals, the type of withdrawals it allows (e.g., in-service or only at termination of employment); and
   • Whether you are eligible for a withdrawal (i.e., you have money in your account that is available for a withdrawal)
2. Download and read the following document:
   
   DOWNLOAD SPECIAL TAX NOTICE 7125 - Financial Information Concerning Qualified Joint & Survivor Annuities and Other Annuity Options
   
   
3. To initiate a withdrawal or rollover from a group annuity retirement plan that is subject to spousal consent, download, complete and submit the Withdrawal and Rollover Request Form provided here: 
   
   DOWNLOAD WITHDRAWAL AND ROLLOVER REQUESTS (FOR GROUP ANNUITY PLANS ONLY) FORM – 7126

Reminder: This downloadable form is only for use with an employer-sponsored retirement plan that is subject to spousal consent. Do not use this form to request a withdrawal or rollover from any other employer-sponsored  retirement plan or any Individual IRA (including Roth IRA) or FPA.

DOWNLOAD DISTRIBUTION REQUEST FOR GROUP ANNUITIES – 6267

Reminder: This downloadable form is only for use with an employer-sponsored retirement plan that is not subject to spousal consent and is funded by a group annuity contract. Do not use this form to request a withdrawal or rollover from any other employer-sponsored retirement plan (e.g., any group plan that is subject to spousal consent or any group plan offering only mutual funds), SEP-IRA, SIMPLE IRA, Individual IRA (including Roth IRA) or FPA.

If your plan is subject to spousal consent, you must complete the Withdrawal and Rollover Requests (for Group Annuity Retirement Plans Only) Form.

SEP-IRA

To initiate a withdrawal from an employer-sponsored SEP-IRA, please download, complete and submit the Withdrawal Request Form to us. You should read the form carefully before you complete it.

DOWNLOAD SIMPLIFIED EMPLOYEE PENSION (SEP) PLAN WITHDRAWAL REQUEST FORM – 6348

Reminder: This downloadable form is only for use with an employer-sponsored SEP-IRA. Do not use this form to request a withdrawal or rollover from any other employer-sponsored retirement plan (e.g., 401(k) or 403(b)), SIMPLE IRA, Individual IRA (including Roth IRA) or FPA.

SIMPLE IRA

To initiate a withdrawal from an employer-sponsored SIMPLE IRA, please download, complete and submit the Withdrawal Request Form to us. You should read the form carefully before you complete it.

DOWNLOAD SAVINGS INCENTIVE MATCH PLAN FOR EMPLOYEES (SIMPLE) IRA WITHDRAWAL REQUEST FORM – 6889

Reminder: This downloadable form is only for use with an employer-sponsored SIMPLE IRA. Do not use this form to request a withdrawal or rollover from any other employer-sponsored retirement plan (e.g., 401(k) or 403(b)), SEP-IRA, Individual IRA (including Roth IRA) or FPA.

Certain Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans

For withdrawals from any group plan offering only mutual funds, please contact us at 800.468.3785 so we can provide you with the appropriate form. 

Individual IRAs (including Roth IRAs) and FPAs

Please see the “If you have an account under an individual retirement product” section of this page, below.

Where and How to Send Your Completed Form and Additional Documents

Once you complete the form for a Group Annuity Retirement Plan, SEP-IRA or SIMPLE IRA, you can mail the form and any additional documentation to the following address:

Mutual of America Financial Group Withdrawal Processing Center
1150 Broken Sound Parkway NW
Boca Raton, FL 33487-9866

Alternatively, you can email the form and additional documentation as a PDF file to us from the email address we have on file for you. We will only be able to process emailed forms that are in PDF format. If you email the form to us using an email address other than the email address we have on file for you, we will reject your email. We do this to safeguard your account and to prevent fraudulent withdrawals from your account.

For your protection, please note the following risks associated with sending information to us using unencrypted email:

If you send your form and any additional documentation to us within an email that is not encrypted, your information is not secure during transmission. This means that individuals who intend to steal your personal information can potentially intercept the email, read or copy the information you provided, and use your information for an illegal purpose. By sending us your personal information in an unencrypted email, you are agreeing to accept these risks. Instead, we recommend you send the form and any additional documentation to us by U.S. mail.

If you still choose to send the form via email, please send your form to WPC@mutualofamerica.com. 

Start a Loan from an Employer-Sponsored Plan

Before you apply for a loan, you should review the Summary Plan Description that was provided to you as a participant in your employer’s plan to learn:

• Whether your employer’s plan permits loans; and
• Whether you are eligible for a loan.

If the plan allows for loans, we also provide some important information about loans in your My Account (under the Loans section). In your My Account, you can also model a loan and begin the application process.

You can also discuss your options with a Mutual of America loan specialist by calling 800.468.3785.

If you are eligible, you can make a withdrawal from an IRA, Roth IRA or FPA.

As a reminder, you established an IRA, Roth IRA or FPA to save for retirement. Although you may be able to take a withdrawal, Mutual of America does not encourage you to do so, and your savings should not be used for current expenses. When available, withdrawals are generally taxed as ordinary income (and may be assessed a 10% tax penalty if taken before age 59½, except for withdrawals of an amount deposited to a Roth IRA as a qualified rollover contribution). For Roth IRA withdrawals, earnings are not taxed if they are part of a qualified distribution (see the Roth IRA Withdrawal Request form for more information). We encourage you to evaluate these issues carefully before requesting a withdrawal.

If you need access to money before you retire, you should carefully consider and exhaust your other options before making a decision to take a withdrawal from your retirement savings.

Start a Withdrawal from an Individual Retirement Product

To initiate a withdrawal from an Individual IRA, Roth IRA or FPA, please download, complete and submit the appropriate withdrawal request form provided here:

Individual IRA

DOWNLOAD INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ANNUITY WITHDRAWAL REQUEST FORM – 1770

Reminder: Form 1770 is only for use with an Individual IRA. Do not use this form to request a withdrawal or rollover from any employer-sponsored retirement plan, Roth IRA or FPA.

Roth IRA

DOWNLOAD ROTH IRA WITHDRAWAL REQUEST FORM – 6906

Reminder: Form 6906 is only for use with a Roth IRA. Do not use this form to request a withdrawal or rollover from any employer-sponsored retirement plan, Individual IRA or FPA.

FPA

DOWNLOAD FLEXIBLE PREMIUM ANNUITY WITHDRAWAL REQUEST FORM – 1693

Reminder: Form 1693 is only for use with an FPA. Do not use this form to request a withdrawal or rollover from any employer-sponsored retirement plan, Individual IRA or Roth IRA.

Certain Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans

For withdrawals from any group plan offering only mutual funds, please contact us at 800.468.3785 so we can provide you with the appropriate form. 

Group Annuity Retirement Plans, SEP-IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs

For withdrawals from Group Annuity Retirement Plans, SEP-IRAs or SIMPLE IRAs, please see the “If you have an account under an employer-sponsored plan” section of this page, above.

Where and How to Send Your Completed Form and Additional Documents

Once you complete the form for an Individual IRA, Roth IRA or FPA, you can mail the form and any additional documentation to the following address:

Mutual of America Financial Group Withdrawal Processing Center
1150 Broken Sound Parkway NW
Boca Raton, FL 33487-9866

Alternatively, you can email the form and additional documentation as a PDF file to us from the email address we have on file for you. We will only be able to process emailed forms that are in PDF format. If you email the form to us using an email address other than the email address we have on file for you, we will reject your email. We do this to safeguard your account and to prevent fraudulent withdrawals from your account.

For your protection, please note the following risks associated with sending information to us using unencrypted email:

If you send your form and any additional documentation to us within an email that is not encrypted, your information is not secure during transmission. This means that individuals who intend to steal your personal information can potentially intercept the email, read or copy the information you provided, and use your information for an illegal purpose. By sending us your personal information in an unencrypted email, you are agreeing to accept these risks. Instead, we recommend you send the form and any additional documentation to us by U.S. mail.

If you still choose to send the form via email, please send your form to  WPC@mutualofamerica.com.