Qualified cash or deferred arrangement
A qualified cash or deferred arrangement is any arrangement which is part of a profit-sharing or stock bonus plan, a pre-ERISA money purchase plan, or a rural cooperative plan which meets the requirements of subsection (a)—
(A)#
under which a covered employee may elect to have the employer make payments as contributions to a trust under the plan on behalf of the employee, or to the employee directly in cash;
(B)#
under which amounts held by the trust which are attributable to employer contributions made pursuant to the employee’s election—
(i) may not be distributable to participants or other beneficiaries earlier than— (I) severance from employment, death, or disability, (II) an event described in paragraph (10), (III) in the case of a profit-sharing or stock bonus plan, the attainment of age 59½, (IV) subject to the provisions of paragraph (14), upon hardship of the employee, (V) in the case of a qualified reservist distribution (as defined in section 72(t)(2)(G)(iii)), the date on which a period referred to in subclause (III) of such section begins, (VI) except as may be otherwise provided by regulations, with respect to amounts invested in a lifetime income investment (as defined in subsection (a)(38)(B)(ii)), the date that is 90 days prior to the date that such lifetime income investment may no longer be held as an investment option under the arrangement, or (VII) as provided in section 401(a)(39),
(ii) will not be distributable merely by reason of the completion of a stated period of participation or the lapse of a fixed number of years, and
(iii) except as may be otherwise provided by regulations, in the case of amounts described in clause (i)(VI), will be distributed only in the form of a qualified distribution (as defined in subsection (a)(38)(B)(i)) or a qualified plan distribution annuity contract (as defined in subsection (a)(38)(B)(iv)),
(B)(i)#
may not be distributable to participants or other beneficiaries earlier than—
(I) severance from employment, death, or disability,
(II) an event described in paragraph (10),
(III) in the case of a profit-sharing or stock bonus plan, the attainment of age 59½,
(IV) subject to the provisions of paragraph (14), upon hardship of the employee,
(V) in the case of a qualified reservist distribution (as defined in section 72(t)(2)(G)(iii)), the date on which a period referred to in subclause (III) of such section begins,
(VI) except as may be otherwise provided by regulations, with respect to amounts invested in a lifetime income investment (as defined in subsection (a)(38)(B)(ii)), the date that is 90 days prior to the date that such lifetime income investment may no longer be held as an investment option under the arrangement, or
(VII) as provided in section 401(a)(39),
(C)#
which provides that an employee’s right to his accrued benefit derived from employer contributions made to the trust pursuant to his election is nonforfeitable, and
(D)#
which does not require, as a condition of participation in the arrangement, that an employee complete a period of service with the employer (or employers) maintaining the plan extending beyond the close of the earlier of—
(i) the period permitted under section 410(a)(1) (determined without regard to subparagraph (B)(i) thereof), or
(ii) subject to the provisions of paragraph (15), the first period of 2 consecutive 12-month periods during each of which the employee has at least 500 hours of service.
(D)(i)#
the period permitted under section 410(a)(1) (determined without regard to subparagraph (B)(i) thereof), or
(D)(ii)#
subject to the provisions of paragraph (15), the first period of 2 consecutive 12-month periods during each of which the employee has at least 500 hours of service.