A hardship distribution is a distribution of funds from your 403(b) account due to an immediate and heavy financial need. Seven circumstances are deemed by the IRS to constitute an immediate and heavy financial need:
- Medical expenses for the employee or his/her spouse or dependents
- Costs for the purchase of a principal residence
- Tuition and related educational expenses for the employee or his/her spouse or dependents
- Payments necessary to prevent eviction from or foreclosure on a primary residence
- Burial or funeral expenses for the employee’s parent, spouse, or dependents
- Repair of damage to the employee’s principal residence
- Expenses and losses incurred on account of a FEMA declared disaster
Other requirements particular to hardship distributions are:
- The amount of the hardship distribution cannot exceed the amount of the immediate and heavy financial need.
- Unless restricted by your Employer's plan, hardship distributions are permitted to be taken from employee contributions, qualified non-elective and matching contributions, and earnings on those
contribution sources.
Your employer has hired U.S. OMNI & TSACG Compliance Services to authorize hardship distributions from its 403(b) plan. Accordingly, OMNI/TSACG only approves hardship distributions meeting one of the seven categories and requires you to certify that the hardship distribution is for one of the seven circumstances described above. In addition, you must certify that the requested amount does not exceed the amount required to satisfy the need and you have no alternative means reasonably available to satisfy the need.