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Accessing Your Money

There are other important plan features you're going to need to know about in order to get the most out of your investing—features that will help you access your money.

• Loans
• Withdrawals
• Distributions

Loans

If necessary, you can borrow a portion of your vested account balance in the Thrift Plan to help address short-term financial needs. When you take a loan, you pay back your own account—both the principal and the interest. So you preserve at least some of your retirement security, even while you use your savings in the interim.

• You can borrow up to 50% of the vested portion of your account balance.
• The minimum loan amount allowed is $1,000.
• The maximum loan amount allowed is $50,000.
• If you've taken another loan from your account, the maximum loan amount allowed is $50,000, less the highest outstanding previous balance in the last 12-month period.
• You can initiate one loan per calendar year, and you cannot have more than two outstanding loans at any time.
• Loans cannot be paid directly from the Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account™ (PCRA) option. However, funds can be transferred from the PCRA into any core fund, then withdrawn.

For more information or to initiate a loan, log on to Your Benefits Resources.

Withdrawals

You may be able to withdraw a portion of your account balance. The type of withdrawal available to you depends on how you've made your savings elections (before-tax versus after-tax) and possibly your age. You choose the type of withdrawal and the amount when you request a withdrawal.

Remember:

• Your withdrawal may be taxed and your Company matching contributions suspended as a result, because of IRS regulations and the plan's objective of preserving your investments for retirement purposes.
• Withdrawals cannot be paid directly from the PCRA. However, funds can be transferred from the PCRA into any core fund, then withdrawn.

Hardship withdrawals

Under certain circumstances, as an active participant, you may make a withdrawal to meet an immediate and heavy financial hardship. This amount may include before-tax contributions and after-tax contributions (subject to certain restrictions), as well as Company matching contributions*, and would be for the amount that meets your financial needs.

Before you request a hardship withdrawal, you must use any other funds available to you (for example, Thrift Plan loans and withdrawal of after-tax savings).

Once you take a hardship withdrawal, your plan participation (i.e., your contributions via payroll deduction and Company matching contributions) will be suspended for six months.

If you have a portion of your account balance in the PCRA and you need to access these funds for withdrawal, you must first transfer them back to one of the core funds.

For more information or to initiate a withdrawal, log on to Your Benefits Resources.

*Amounts allocated to your account from the Cash Balance Pension Plan are not available for hardship withdrawals.

Distributions (Benefit Payments)

You can receive benefits from the Thrift Plan when you terminate employment with the Company. If your account is valued at $1,000 or less when you leave the Company, it's automatically paid out in a lump sum when you become eligible for a distribution. If your account is valued at more than $1,000, you have the choice of receiving total or partial payments at any time, or leaving your money in the plan to enjoy the possibility of investment earnings.

Remember:

• Distributions cannot be paid directly from the PCRA. However, funds can be transferred from the PCRA into any core fund, then withdrawn. You'll receive more information when you become eligible for a distribution.
• The only way you can receive tax-free distributions from your Roth account is if the account is at least five years old from the first deposit and you are at least age 59½.