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Q1: Can I move over to Nationwide, but keep what money I already have in Met Life?

A: Yes, you can keep your existing funds in MetLife.  However, a new account will need to be set up with Nationwide because future contributions will go to the Nationwide account.

Note that by staying with MetLife you will lose an opportunity to take out a loan (if needed) against your retirement account.

There are no guarantees that MetLife will continue to give you the same fee structure, investment choices, or investment returns for those individuals who stay with MetLife.

Individuals who stay with MetLife will lose the power behind the IPHC sponsored plan.  As a group sponsored plan, you have the power of being part of a large group that will look out for your best interests.  Individuals must stand on their own by staying with MetLife.

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Q2:  If I can/did keep my existing money at Met Life, and I later decided to roll it over into something else (like Nationwide), what would be the penalty?

A: Any penalties you incur with MetLife will be paid by Nationwide IF you roll your funds over with the group.  After the group transition is complete, the participant must pay any penalties charged by MetLife. 

Penalty computation:  Each contribution (see def. Below) must stay with MetLife for a full 7 years before it can be withdrawn without penalty.  The penalty of 7% declines by 1% per year (yr1=7% penalty, yr 2=6%, yr 3=5%, yr 4=4%, yr 5=3%, yr6=2%, yr 7=1%) until the beginning of year 8, when the funds can be withdrawn without penalty.

Each contribution – every time a contribution is made on your behalf, that amount must stay with MetLife for a 7 full years.  Example- the contribution made on Jan 2000 will incur a penalty if withdrawn before Feb 2007; the Feb 2001 contribution must stay until March 2007.

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Q3: If I can/did keep my existing money at Met Life, what would the plan then be considered?  Would it still be a 403b or would it turn into an IRA, or what?

The plan would still be a 403b plan, but it will no longer be employer (church) sponsored.  For licensed ministers this could be a HUGE issue upon retirement.  Ministers can claim a housing allowance for retirement earnings paid from a church sponsored plan.  By staying with MetLife, ministers may lose this housing allowance option upon retirement.

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Q4: If I were to withdraw my money from the Nationwide account, would the penalty scheme be similar or the same to the scheme you described for Met Life?

The penalty you refer to is the early surrender charge imposed by the plan provider (old plan=MetLife, new plan=Nationwide).

The answer to this question is two fold:

First, to be eligible to withdraw your money (instead of taking out a loan) a “qualifying event” would have to occur.  A qualifying event is when one of the following occurs for the employee/participant:

Secondly, the new plan through Nationwide Financial Services does not and will not impose any early surrender charge to a plan participant for a withdrawal regardless of when the withdrawal is made.  This issue was strongly negotiated and was a condition of approval in the contract with Nationwide.

You should keep in mind, taxes for withdrawals and penalties for early distributions imposed by tax law could apply, but are not related to early surrender charges referenced

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Last update on 11/7/2007
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