A qualified plan is a savings plan meets IRS rules, lets you save money for retirement, and does not tax the money until you withdraw it.

Qualified plans include Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) at your financial institution, and 401(k), 403b, and 457 plans.

 A rollover is when you move your retirement money from one tax-deferred or tax-free account to another. For example, if you move money from your ERS retirement account to an IRA, the deposit transaction is called a rollover.

When you roll over your money, you don't have to pay income taxes on the withdrawal because you will deposit your retirement money into another account. When you withdraw the money from the rollover account, you will have to pay income taxes.

You can put your money in a traditional IRA at your bank or credit union.

You can't put your money in an account that has pre-taxed money; like, a Roth IRA, a Simple IRA, or an Educational IRA, known as a Coverdell Education Savings Account.

 ERS withholds the federal taxes before mailing you a check.

• 20% federal income taxes if you are a U.S. citizen on the taxable amount of your account balance.
• 30% federal income taxes if you are not a U.S. citizen on the taxable amount of your account balance.

Yes, we call that a split refund. You must withdraw all of your money or none at all. You withdraw part of your money and roll over the rest of the taxable amount of your account balance to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or qualified savings plan. The split between the refund and the rollover must be whole numbers. For example:  50/50, 60/40, 70/30.

You will pay taxes and penalties on the portion that you do not roll over.

You will receive your check in 15 business days after the following things happen:

• You complete and submit your withdrawal request.
• We send you the Retirement Account Withdrawal Disclaimer Form.
• You complete, sign, and return the form to ERS.
• You are off state payroll for 30 days (reported by your agency).

Your check will be mailed to the address you provide. Direct deposit is not an option.

We mail you a 1099R form in January that shows the withdrawal as income. We send the form to the address you provide in your online account.

If you are under the age of 59½, you may also have to pay an additional 10% penalty when you file your taxes at the end of the year.

Yes. You will start a new account with ERS if you come back to work for the State. You can also purchase the service time that you withdrew. You must have your first retirement deduction taken from your paycheck and become an ERS member again before you can buy the service time.