Annuity Fund Hardship Distribution
A Participant may, in the event of Hardship, be permitted to make a withdrawal from their Annuity Fund Profit Sharing Account before retirement or termination of service with the Employers. In order to be eligible for a Hardship Withdrawal, you must meet the requirements listed below.
The term "Hardship" shall mean:
Medical Expenses
As defined in Code Section 213(d) incurred by, or to obtain such medical care, by the Participant, the Participant's Spouse or any of the Participant's dependents. COBRA/Self-Pay premiums as well.
Principal Residence
Purchase or construction of principal residence, or emergency repairs for casualty loss.
Educational Fees
Payment of tuition and related educational fees for the education for the Participant, the Participant's Spouse, or any of the Participant's dependents.
Prevent Eviction
The need to prevent the eviction of the Participant from such Participant's principal residence or foreclosure on the mortgage of the Participant's principal residence.
Funeral Expenses
Funeral expenses for Participant's spouse, child, dependent or parent.
For a Hardship withdrawal to be granted, ALL of the following requirements must be met:
Cannot Exceed Amount Necessary
The amount of the withdrawal must not be in excess of the amount necessary to alleviate the Hardship, including amounts necessary to pay any Federal, State and local income taxes or penalties reasonably expected to result from the distribution.
Cannot Exceed One-Half of Balance
The amount of the withdrawal shall in no event exceed one-half of the balance in the Participant's Profit Sharing Account.
Cannot Exceed $50,000
The amount of the withdrawal shall in no event exceed $50,000.00 from the Participant's Profit Sharing Account.
No Withdrawal in Prior 12 Months
The Participant must not have received a withdrawal in the prior 12-month period.
Balance of at Least $2,000
The balance in the Participant's Profit Sharing Account must be at least $2,000.00 prior to the withdrawal.
Questions About Hardship Withdrawals? Submit your question below.
Annuity Plan FAQs
Money Purchase Sub-Account: consisting of your account balance in the New Jersey Annuity Plan with contributions made for work performed by you through January 31, 2009, net of allocable Plan expenses and investment earnings/losses.
April 30, 1998 Sub-Account: consisting of your April 30, 1998 sub-account under the Carpenters Savings Plan of Philadelphia & Vicinity as of December 31, 2022, plus or minus investment gains or losses and less distributions and administrative charges.
Profit Sharing Sub-Account: consisting of Employer contributions to the New Jersey Plan for work performed by you on and after the conversion date of February 1, 2009, and accounts of participants who were participants in the Carpenters Savings Plan of Philadelphia & Vicinity as of December 31, 2022 that were not April 30, 1998 Sub-Accounts, net of allocable Plan expenses and investment earnings/losses.
All Annuity Contributions for hours worked up through December 31, 2022 will be considered a separate Legacy Annuity Account and will be frozen (Accounts A & B). No new contributions will go into the Legacy Annuity Account; however, it will continue to earn interest credits on the Legacy Annuity Account balance.
The Legacy Annuity Account will not be merged into the new Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Annuity Fund (“EASCAF”). There are no changes to the distribution options.
Effective January 1, 2023, the Carpenters Savings Fund of Philadelphia & Vicinity merged into the Northeast Carpenters Annuity Fund. The Board of Trustees of the newly reconstituted and renamed Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Annuity Fund amended and restated the Northeast Carpenters Annuity Plan as the Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Annuity Plan.
Yes, the post-merger EASCAF will allow distributions for the following reasons:
- Retirement or Death
- Total & Permanent Disability
- 12 months after Separation of Service
- In-Service at Age 59 ½
- Qualified Domestic Relations Order (“QDRO”)
- Hardship Withdrawal
- Medical Expenses
- Purchase or Construction of Principal Residence
- Home improvements due to Catastrophic Life Events
- Educational Fees
- To Prevent Eviction from Principal Residence or Foreclosure of mortgage
- Funeral Expenses.
Yes, the Plan will accept a rollover contribution from another employer-sponsored defined contribution profit sharing plan or from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) if it occurs directly from the other plan or IRA or within sixty (60) days of your receipt of the distribution. Rollover contributions will be recorded in your Profit Sharing Sub-Account. The Plan will also accept as a contribution, repayment of a COVID-19 hardship distribution, up to the total amount of the COVID-19 distribution(s) you received, if you make a repayment contribution within three (3) years of the date you received the COVID-19 distribution(s).
A Qualified Domestic Relations Order (Q.D.R.O.) is a judgment, decree, or order made pursuant to state domestic relations law that relates to a divorce or other domestic relations proceedings which specifies an amount of the Participant’s benefit to be paid to an alternate payee, and the manner of such payment. Federal law requires the Annuity Fund to honor a Q.D.R.O.
Payment to an alternate payee may be paid in any form permitted under the Plan.
Your "Beneficiary" is a surviving individual, trust or estate that you designate on a Plan form. In the absence of a designation, your beneficiary is, in order, your spouse (regardless of the length of marriage), child or children in equal parts, mother, father, or if no such relative survives, the executor or administrator of your estate. A person who kills a participant cannot be a beneficiary and the death benefit will pass to the next beneficiary in the order listed. Your beneficiary designation is invalid if your beneficiary is your former spouse and you made the designation prior to your divorce.
If you elected the “equal monthly installments” distribution form under (a) above, you can elect to increase or decrease the amount of the payment to any amount that is evenly divisible by $100 twice per year (during the period from May 15 through June 15, to be effective the following July 1, or during the period November 15 through December 15, to be effective the following January 1). You can elect to discontinue installment payments and make a one-time election to have the remaining balance paid in a single lump-sum at any time. If you elect to discontinue your monthly installment payments, your only option is to elect a lump sum distribution. Partial distributions are not available once you have begun receiving monthly installment payments.
If you are married, then your Money Purchase Sub-Account or April 30, 1998 Sub-Account must be paid in the form of a Qualified Joint and Survivor Annuity unless your spouse consents to waive this form of benefit in favor of one of the other options
An annuity for your life with a survivor annuity for the life of your surviving spouse which is equal to 50% of the monthly amount paid during your life. Such annuity shall be the actuarial equivalent of a single life annuity payable for your lifetime calculated based upon the value of your Money Purchase Sub-Account, or your April 30, 1998 Sub-Account less any secured interest held by the Fund by reason of a loan outstanding to the Participant.
An annuity for the life of a surviving spouse which is the actuarial equivalent of the balance of your Money Purchase Sub-Account or your April 30, 1998 Sub-Account (as of the date of death), less any secured interest held by the Fund by reason of a loan outstanding to the Participant.
You may choose to keep your Annuity balance with the Fund for distribution at a later date. However, it is mandatory that the distribution of benefits begin under the Plan no later than April 1 of the calendar year following the year in which you attain age 72 (your “Required Beginning Date”).
If you have reached your Required Beginning Date and you have not begun distributions, you may forfeit the amount in your Individual Account if the Fund Office is unable to locate you to begin your distributions. If you subsequently come forward, the amount forfeited will be re-credited to your Individual Account.
The value of your Individual Account may also be forfeited if you are eligible to begin commencing benefits, the value of your Individual Account is less than $5,000 and you are unable to be located.
Spousal consent is required for all distributions from the Plan.