Pennsylvania § 5807 - Eligibility for benefits.

§ 5807. Eligibility for benefits.

(a) Termination of service.--A participant who terminates State service shall be eligible to withdraw the vested accumulated total defined contributions standing to the participant's credit in the participant's individual investment account or a lesser amount as the participant may request. Payment shall be made in a lump sum unless the board has established other forms of distribution in the plan document. A participant who withdraws his vested accumulated total defined contributions shall no longer be a participant in the plan, notwithstanding that the former State employee may continue to be a member of the system or may have contracted to receive an annuity or other form of payment from a provider retained by the board for such purposes.

(b) Required distributions.--All payments under this section shall start and be made in compliance with the minimum distribution requirements and incidental death benefit rules of IRC § 401(a)(9). The board shall take any action and make any distributions it may determine are necessary to comply with those requirements.

(c) (Reserved).

(d) Prohibited distributions.--A State employee must be terminated from all positions that result in either membership in the system or participation in the plan to be eligible to receive a distribution. No distribution shall be allowed that would be an in-service distribution prohibited by the IRC.

(e) Loans.--Loans or other distributions, including hardship or unforeseeable emergency distributions, from the plan to State employees who have not terminated State service are not permitted, except as required by law.

(f) Small individual investment accounts.--A participant who terminates State service and whose vested accumulated total defined contributions are below the threshold established by law as of the date of termination of service may be paid the vested accumulated total defined contributions in a lump sum as provided in IRC § 401(a)(31).

(g) Option to purchase annuity.--Except as prohibited by the IRC or as otherwise provided in this part, a participant who is eligible and elects to receive a distribution or vested accumulated employer defined contributions may purchase an annuity with that distribution from an annuity provider contracted by the board under section 5808(c) (relating to death benefits) and under such conditions as provided in the plan document. The conditions may include that the board is authorized to make the distribution directly to the annuity provider.