Termination of Employment

Upon your termination of employment for any reason, other than death, you will be entitled to receive your vested Account balances.

401(a) Plan - Seattle Pacific University Defined Contribution Plan

If you were a participant in the Seattle Pacific University Defined Contribution Retirement Plan - 401(a) you are entitled to receive benefits based on the portion of your plan accumulation. University contributions to the Plan were fixed as a percentage of employee compensation. Because the Plan is a defined contribution plan, you will not receive a set dollar amount of retirement benefits. Rather, your actual retirement benefits will depend on the value of your vested Account balance at the time your employment with the University terminates. Your vested Account balance will reflect any annual allocations to your Account, the length of time you are employed by the University and the investment performance of your Account.

•  Employer Contribution Rate: If you were an Active Participant in the Plan (as defined in the Plan and the SPD), you received (a) an Employer base contribution of 7% of eligible compensation plus (b) an additional contribution of 5.7% of eligible compensation in excess of 100% of the Social Security Wage Base (if applicable). 

• Eligibility: If you were employed by the University in an eligible employment category, you became eligible to participate in the Plan immediately following the later of your date of hire or attainment of age 21.  You would have been enrolled in the Plan on the Enrollment Date (which is the first day of each payroll period) that is administratively practicable on or after your completion of the eligibility requirements.  
• Vesting: If you completed at least one hour of service with the University on or after July 1, 2023, you became 100% vested in your Employer Contributions. Future Employer Contributions made to the Plan would also be 100% vested.  

403(b) Plan - Seattle Pacific University Employee Savings Plan

If you participated in the SPU Employee Savings plan - 403(b), those funds are always 100% vested.

Personal contributions through the SPU Employee Savings—403(b) plan to TRANSAMERICA Retirement Solutions, TIAA-CREF, or Fidelity accounts are 100% vested and are available upon your termination less applicable taxes and penalties.

Your Retirement Account Options Upon Termination of Employment:

1. Roll over your account directly to a traditional or Roth Individual Retirement Account (IRA) offered through Transamerica Retirement Solutions (or other provider) or to another eligible retirement plan. In the case of a traditional IRA (or other eligible retirement Plan that will accept your rollover), you won’t owe any federal income taxes or be assessed the 10% IRS early distribution penalty on the rollover transaction, and your pre-tax assets will continue to accumulate tax deferred— without interruption. A rollover of your pre-tax assets to a Roth IRA is a taxable transaction. No 10% IRS early distribution penalty will apply.
2. Taking a distribution in accordance with the provisions of the plan. This is the least favorable option from a tax perspective, since after federal and state income taxes and any 10% IRS early distribution penalty (generally imposed by IRS if you terminate prior to the year you attain age 55 or take your distribution prior to age 59 ½), your balance may be reduced by up to 50%.
3. Do nothing: If your balance (defined above) is greater than $5,000; your vested balance can remain in the plan until the required minimum distribution rules require that you begin taking withdrawals upon attaining age 70 ½.

For assistance in determining which of the above options may be best for you, or if you have questions on how to complete the forms, please call TRANSAMERICA at 1-800-755-5801, TIAA-CREF at 1-800-842-2776 or Fidelity (Seattle Pacific University Employee Savings Plan – 403(b) only) at 1-800-343-0860.

A distribution options summary page may also be found here.

Additional information:

If your vested balance is or less than $5,000; your account balance will automatically be distributed from the plan as detailed below:

• If your vested balance is less than $1,000, your vested account balance will be automatically distributed to you in the form of a lump sum payment after withholding the 20% mandatory federal withholding and any other required income tax withholding.
• If your vested balance is greater than $1,000 but not more than $5,000; your vested account balance will be automatically rolled over to an IRA with Transamerica Retirement Solutions.

If you do not complete and return a Distribution Election Form or Direct Rollover Request Form directly to Transamerica Retirement Solutions, we will distribute your balance according to the terms of the Plan.

Distribution forms can be found by logging into your account at spu.trsretire.com, select your plan, click on Documents & Forms and choose Forms. Or you can contact a customer service associate at 1-800-755-5801. Forms can be mailed, emailed or faxed to you.

Loans

If you have an outstanding loan you may elect to continue making loan repayments to the plan directly.