PURPOSE: This rule describes the timing and form of benefit payments from the defined contribution plan.

1. (1) Eligibility for Payment. Generally, distribution to a Participant of his or her vested Account shall be made no earlier than Separation from Service. However, a Partici-pant may request withdrawal of all or a portion of his or her Board matching account, his or her Employer matching account and his or her rollover account before Separation from Service after attainment of age fifty-nine and a half (59 1/2). Such withdrawals shall be made first from the Participant’s rollover account, then from the vested portion of his or her Board matching account, and finally from the vested portion of his or her Employer matching account.

2. (2) Distribution Due to Hardship. A Participant may request a distribution due to Hardship by submitting a request to the Board (or its designee) in such form as may be permitted by the Board (or its designee). The Board (or its designee) shall have the authority to require such evidence as it deems necessary to determine if a distribution is warranted. If an application for a distribution due to a Hardship is approved, the distribution is limited to the lesser of—

   1. (A) An amount sufficient to meet the need, less the value of the Participant’s account in the 457 Plan; or
   2. (B) The amount held in the Participant’s rollover account. The amount of the need shall include any amounts necessary to pay any federal, state or local income taxes (including withholding) or penalties reasonably anticipated to result from the distribution. The allowed distribution shall be paid in a single sum to the Participant as soon as administratively feasible after approval of such distribution.

3. (3) Commencement of Distributions.

   1. (A) General Rule. Distribution of a Participant’s Account under the Plan shall be made in a single sum as soon as administratively feasible after the Participant’s Separation from Service occurs, unless the Participant elects to defer this payment. A Participant may elect that the single-sum distribution of benefits be made at any time following his or her Separation from Service as long as distributions commence no later than 60 days following the date on which the Participant attains age 70 1/2, or retires, if later.
   2. (B) Notwithstanding subsection (3)(A), if the value of a Participant’s Account is five thousand dollars ($5,000) or less at the time of the Participant’s Separation from Service (without respect to any Board matching contributions or Employer matching contributions which might be allocated following the Participant’s Separation from Service), then his or her benefit under the Plan shall be distributed to the Participant in a single sum as soon as administratively feasible following his or her Separation from Service.
   3. (C) Employees who terminate employment and then resume employment with an Employer within 30 days will not forfeit their prior service and will not be required to receive a refund of their payroll contributions.
   4. (D) In the event a Qualified Participant’s Account is distributed upon such Participant’s death or retirement and a Board contribution or Employer matching contribution is later allocated to such Qualified Participant’s Account for any Plan Year, a subsequent distribution of such Account shall be made as soon as administratively feasible after such matching contribution allocation has been made.

4. (4) Direct Rollover Option.

   1. (A) A distributee may elect to have an eligible rollover distribution paid directly to a single eligible retirement plan specified by the distributee. However, this election may not be made if the total eligible rollover distributions paid to the distributee from the Plan will be less than $200.
   2. (B) A distributee may elect to divide an eligible rollover distribution so that part is paid directly to an eligible retirement plan and part is paid to the distributee. However, the part paid directly to the eligible retirement plan must total at least $500.
   3. (C) A distributee may elect a direct rollover after having received a written notice which complies with the rules of Code section 402(f). In general, payment to a distributee shall not begin until 30 days after the section 402(f) notice is given. However, payment may be made sooner if the notice clearly informs the distributee of the right to a period of at least 30 days to consider the decision of whether or not to make a direct rollover, and the distributee, after receiving the notice, makes an affirmative election to receive an immediate distribution. A distributee who fails to make an election in the 30-day period shall receive the eligible rollover distribution immediately after the 30-day period expires.

   4. (D) For purposes of this section (4), the following terms have the meanings set forth below:

      1. 1. An “eligible rollover distribution” is

any distribution or withdrawal payable under the terms of this Plan to a Participant, which is described in Code section 402(c)(4). In general, this term includes any single-sum distribution, and any distribution which is one (1) in a series of substantially equal periodic payments made over a period of less than ten (10) years, and is less than the distributee’s life expectancy. However, an eligible rollover distribution does not include the portion of any distribution which constitutes a minimum required distribution under Code section 401(a)(9) or, after December 31, 2001, any distribution due to Hardship. Such term also does not include a distribution to the Participant’s Beneficiary, unless the Beneficiary is the Participant’s spouse.

1. 2. For Plan Years beginning after

December 31, 2001, “eligible retirement plan” means—

1. A. An individual retirement account

described in Code section 408(a);

1. B. An individual retirement annuity

described in Code section 408(b);

1. C. An annuity plan described in Code

section 403(a); and

1. D. A retirement plan qualified under

Code section 401(a), but only if the terms of the plan permit the acceptance of rollover distributions.

1. E. An annuity contract described in

Code section 403(b); and

1. F. An eligible deferred compensation

plan under Code section 457(b) which is maintained by a state, a political subdivision of a state or any agency or instrumentality of a state or political subdivision of a state and which agrees to separately account for amounts transferred into such plan from this Plan.

1. 3. “Distributee” means a Participant or

the spouse of a deceased Participant.

1. (5) Compliance with Code Section 401(a)(9). Regardless of any contrary provision in the Plan, any distribution shall be determined in accordance with Code section 401(a)(9) and, with respect to distributions under the Plan made in calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2002, the regulations thereunder that were proposed in January 2001. Accordingly, distribution of a Participant’s Account shall be made no later than the April 1 of the calendar year following the later of—

   1. (A) The calendar year in which the Participant attains age 70 1/2; or
   2. (B) The calendar year in which the Participant retires.
2. (6) Return of Mistaken Payments. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, a Participant or Beneficiary is entitled to only those benefits provided by the Plan and promptly shall return any payment, or portion thereof, made by mistake of fact or law. The Board may offset the future benefits of any recipient who refuses to return an erroneous payment, in addition to pursuing any other remedies provided by law.

3. (7) Forfeitures. If a Participant has a Separation from Service and is not vested in his or her Board matching account and Employer matching account, he/she shall forfeit the non-vested portion of the Board matching account and Employer matching account upon the Separation from Service.

   1. (A) The forfeiture of a Participant’s Board matching account shall be applied to reduce Board matching contributions for the Plan Year in which distribution occurs.
   2. (B) The forfeiture of a Participant’s Employer matching account shall be applied to reduce Employer matching contributions by the Employer to which such Employer matching account is attributable for the Plan Year in which distribution occurs. If any such Employer has not elected to make matching contributions for such Plan Year, such forfeiture shall be allocated pro rata to Qualified Participants (as defined in 16 CSR 50-10.030(3)) employed by that Employer based on their contributions to the 457 Plan for that Plan Year.

4. (8) Lost Participants. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, if it is not possible to make payment because the Board cannot locate the Participant after making reasonable efforts to so do, a retroactive payment may be made as soon as administratively feasible after the date on which the Participant is located.

   1. (A) If the Board is unable to locate any person entitled to receive distribution from an Account hereunder, such Account shall be forfeited, the seed account, Board matching account and rollover account shall be used to reduce Board matching contributions and the Employer matching account shall be used to reduce to Employer matching contributions by the Employer to which it is attributable on the date two (2) years after the date the Board sends by certified mail a notice concerning the benefits to such person at his or her last known address (or determines that there is no last known address).
   2. (B) If an Account is forfeited under this Section and a person otherwise entitled to the Account subsequently files a claim with the Board during any Plan Year, before any allocations for such Plan Year are made, the Account will be restored to the amount which was forfeited without regard to any earnings or losses that would have been allocated. Such restoration shall first be taken out of forfeitures which have not been allocated and if such forfeitures are insufficient to restore such person’s account balance, restoration shall be made by an Employer contribution to the Plan. AUTHORITY: sections 50.1250, RSMo Supp. 2001 and 50.1260, RSMo 2000.* Original rule filed May 9, 2000, effective Jan. 30, 2001. Amended: Filed April 25, 2002, effective Nov. 30, 2002.

*Original authority: 50.1250, RSMo 1999, amended 2001; 50.1260, RSMo 1999.