Rebecca, age 56, has $67,000 saved in her most recent 401(k) account with ABC Company. She also has $700,000 saved in her previous 401(k) account with XYZ Company. Neither of these retirement plans allow for partial distributions.
Rebecca retired at age 56 from ABC Company, so she can take the entire $67,000 balance out in one lump sum distribution. She will not owe a 10% penalty on these dollars due to the Rule of 55.
If she were to access any of her $700,000 saved in her previous 401(k) account with XYZ Company before age 59.5, then she would incur a 10% penalty. Not to mention the $700,000 is sitting in a plan that disallows partial distributions so that would be significant taxable income to report in the same tax year. Similar to the example above, Rebecca may consider initiating a direct rollover of her $700,000 into a IRA account for more flexible distribution choices.
What About Other 401(k) Accounts from Previous Jobs?
To qualify for the Rule of 55, you must be terminated as an employee on or after age 55. Therefore, if you have multiple retirement accounts, the only ones that will qualify for a penalty-free distribution between ages 55 and 59.5 are accounts with your termination date reflecting that age range.
One consideration is to roll over a previous retirement account into your current account before you retire. We recommend speaking with your recordkeeper to confirm that your retirement plan features are designed so rollover sources can be accessible by partial distributions.
For example, if Danielle from above had another 401(k) account, she could have rolled that into her PDX 401(k) account before retiring. All the dollars in the account would be eligible for Rule of 55 distributions.
What if I Decide to go Back to Work but have Taken Distributions Already?
Going back to work after you have taken a Rule of 55 distribution should not result in a 10% penalty. If you go back to work for the same company, then you may lose the ability to access funds as an active employee. However, your distributions will not be impacted if you go back to work at another organization.
How are Rule of 55 Distributions Tracked for Tax Reasons?
Custodians and recordkeepers are responsible for providing a Form 1099-R. This tax form reports any distributions from a retirement account. If you take a distribution under the Rule of 55, you would expect to see code 2 in box 7 of your 1099-R form. Code 2 specifies the following:
2 - Early distribution, exception applies (under age 59.5)
If your 1099-R form includes Code 2 in box 7, you will not owe a 10% penalty. Before you initiate a withdrawal between ages 55-59.5, we recommend confirming your record keeper will issue the 1099 in this format.
What Other Resources do you Have?
Retirement is a transition that only happens once in life. You probably haven’t retired before, and you likely won’t retire again. Retirement transitions involve several financial planning considerations and we wanted to conclude this article with additional resources that may be helpful to you:
Your Pre-Retirement Checklist
The 3 Questions to Ask to Build a Solid Retirement Income Plan
Why an IRA Makes More Sense in Retirement than your 401(k)
While the articles are supplemental information, we believe the best way to prepare for your upcoming retirement is to collaborate with our team at Human Investing. Please use this scheduling link to meet with our team to review your unique financial landscape before you start planning your retirement celebration(s): Schedule here.