Citi Benefits Handbook
Hardship Withdrawals
From Non-Roth Accounts
If you have a financial hardship as defined by the IRS, you may request a "hardship withdrawal." If your withdrawal request is approved, the amount withdrawn is taken from your accounts in the following order:
  • After-Tax Contribution Account;
  • Rollover Account;
  • Profit Sharing Account;
  • Before-Tax Contribution Account (excluding earnings credited after December 31, 1988);
  • Company Contribution Account; and
  • One-Time Shearson Transition Contribution Account.
The maximum available is 100% of the accounts listed above. The minimum withdrawal amount is $500 or the total balance in these sources, if less.
Note: Company Fixed Contribution Accounts, Company Transition Contribution Accounts and Company Matching Contribution Accounts (i.e., Company Matching Contributions made for 2008 and later years) are not available for hardship withdrawals.
The IRS defines financial hardship as an "immediate and heavy financial need" that you cannot meet through other means. The hardship withdrawal cannot be for more than the amount of the immediate and heavy financial need, although it can include additional amounts you may need to pay applicable taxes and penalties. You are required to have received all other withdrawals and distributions available under the Plan (other than Plan loans) before you are eligible for a hardship withdrawal. According to IRS rules, a financial hardship includes:
  • Purchase of your primary residence (excluding mortgage payments);
  • Funds to prevent your eviction from or foreclosure on the mortgage of your primary residence;
  • Post-secondary tuition expenses and related educational fees, including room and board, for you, your spouse, or your dependents for the next 12 months only;
  • Unreimbursed medical expenses for you, your spouse, or your dependents;
  • Funeral or burial expenses associated with the death of an immediate family member (including your parents, your spouse and children);
  • Repairs to your home as a result of a natural disaster not covered by insurance; and
  • Expenses and losses (including loss of income) due to a disaster declared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act if your principal residence or principal place of employment at the time of the disaster was in an area designated by FEMA for individual assistance due to that disaster.
Other circumstances that may qualify as a financial hardship include:
  • Legal expenses or court costs for you;
  • Income tax due for prior tax years; and
  • Car repossession.
You will be required to document the existence of a financial hardship and the extent of the hardship. The existence of a hardship, and the amount that can be withdrawn, will be determined by the Plan Administrator in accordance with IRS and Plan rules. The Plan Administrator's decision will be final and binding.
The following rules apply to financial hardships:
  • You must provide a written statement that you do not have other liquid assets reasonably available to satisfy your financial need.
  • If you have a balance in the Citigroup Common Stock Fund, you must elect to receive your dividends in cash. If you have not made a prior election, your election will be updated at the time your approved hardship is processed.
  • You may not repay any amount withdrawn as a hardship withdrawal.
From Roth Contribution Account
If you have a financial hardship as defined by the IRS, you may request a "hardship withdrawal" from your Roth Contribution Account. The hardship requirements applied are the same as those applied to hardship withdrawals from non-Roth Accounts. If your withdrawal request is approved, the amount withdrawn is taken from your accounts in the following order:
  • Roth Rollover Account; and
  • Roth Contribution Account.
The maximum available is 100% of your Roth Contribution Account. The minimum withdrawal amount is $500 or the total balance, if less.