To my surprise (I was thinking cha-ching), I received my pension statement with a very nice vested balance. Since my lay off last year, it was my assumption I could withdraw this money and roll over into another mutual fund or IRA account. All I can say to this assumption is to read the FINE print. I learned the following after reading the FINE print
- my specific account does not qualify for a withdrawal until age 55 because the balance is over $10,000
- if married and want to withdraw from your pension account your spouse must sign in the presence of a notary (spouses are automatically the beneficiary)
- if you elect to change beneficiary (i.e. to children) again your spouse must sign in the presence of a notary
- pension account do not qualify for hardship withdrawals
According to the pension administrator, the hardship withdrawal question has been asked multiple times. I keep telling myself the silver lining is 11 years of compounded interest to fund my 2nd trip to Italy!