To roll money out of a California Savings Plus 401(k) or 457(b) account, complete the Savings Plus Rollover Out Form (NRF-0984AO), available through the Savings Plus website or by calling Nationwide Retirement Solutions at 1-855-616-4776. The form tells the plan to transfer your balance to another qualified retirement account, and you can submit it by fax, mail, or the online portal. Before filling anything out, confirm you actually qualify for a distribution, because the rules differ by plan type and by your age.
Who Qualifies to Roll Over
The most common trigger is separating from California state service through retirement, resignation, or termination. Your department has to report the separation to Nationwide before the system will process a distribution. Until that status change reaches the recordkeeper, your form sits in the queue. If you recently left and want to move quickly, call your personnel office to confirm the separation was reported.
If you’re still working for the state, you can request an in-service rollover once you reach age 59½. At that point either your 401(k) or 457(b) balance becomes eligible even though you haven’t separated. The IRS treats reaching 59½ as a permissible distribution event for 401(k) plans.1Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Resource Guide – Plan Participants – General Distribution Rules
Why the Plan Type Matters Before You Roll
Both plans sit under CalHR’s Savings Plus program, but they carry different federal tax consequences at distribution. Governmental 457(b) distributions are not subject to the 10% early withdrawal penalty that hits 401(k) participants who take money out before age 59½.2Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Exceptions to Tax on Early Distributions A 45-year-old who leaves state service can pull 457(b) money without the extra penalty, though ordinary income tax still applies. If your 457(b) account contains funds previously rolled in from a 401(k) or IRA, the 10% penalty can apply to that portion when you’re under 59½.
For 401(k) money, if you separate from state service during or after the year you turn 55, distributions from your Savings Plus 401(k) escape the 10% early withdrawal penalty under IRC Section 72(t)(2)(A)(v).3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 72 – Annuities; Certain Proceeds of Endowment and Life Insurance Contracts The exception applies only to the plan held by the employer you’re separating from. Roll that 401(k) balance into an IRA and you lose the protection. If you’re between 55 and 59½ and might need some of the money soon, think twice before rolling everything into an IRA.
Filling Out the Rollover Out Form
The form asks for your personal information, the details of the receiving plan, and how much you want to transfer. A wrong entry in any of these sections is the fastest way to have your form kicked back.
Personal Information
Enter your full legal name, Social Security number, current mailing address, and daytime phone number. The name and SSN must match exactly what Nationwide has on file. If you recently changed your name through marriage, divorce, or a legal name change, update your Savings Plus account first or include supporting documentation with the form.
Distribution Amount
Choose between a full rollover of your entire balance or a partial rollover of a specific dollar amount. For a partial rollover, write the exact figure. The form also asks which investment funds or asset classes the money should come from. If you don’t specify, the recordkeeper typically liquidates proportionally across all your holdings.
Receiving Plan Information
This is where most errors happen. You need to provide:
- Plan type: traditional IRA, Roth IRA, another 401(k), a 403(b), a governmental 457(b), or a SEP-IRA.
- Institution name: the exact legal name of the receiving company or plan administrator, such as “Fidelity Management Trust Company” rather than just “Fidelity.”
- Account number at the receiving institution. Open the account before submitting the form if you haven’t already.
- Mailing address where the receiving institution accepts rollover checks. This is often a processing center, not the local branch where you opened the account. Call to confirm.
The check is made payable to the receiving institution for your benefit, in the form “Fidelity Investments FBO John Smith.” A transposed digit or the wrong mailing address can send the check back and force you to start over.
Signature and Certification
Sign the form certifying that the receiving plan is eligible to accept the rollover, and date it the same day. Savings Plus does not require notarization for a standard rollover request.
Direct Rollover or Indirect Rollover
A direct rollover sends the check straight from Savings Plus to your new plan custodian. No taxes are withheld and you never touch the money. This is the path most people should take.4Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 413, Rollovers From Retirement Plans
An indirect rollover puts the check in your hands. The plan is required to withhold 20% for federal income tax before sending you the money.5Internal Revenue Service. Pensions and Annuity Withholding You then have 60 days to deposit the full original distribution amount, including the 20% withheld, into another eligible retirement account. On a $50,000 distribution, the plan sends you $40,000. To finish the rollover tax-free, you have to deposit $50,000 into the new account, covering the $10,000 gap out of pocket. You get the withheld amount back as a refund when you file, but only if you can front that money in the meantime.6Internal Revenue Service. Rollovers of Retirement Plan and IRA Distributions
Miss the 60-day window and the entire distribution becomes taxable income. If you’re under 59½ and the funds came from your 401(k), you’ll also owe the 10% early withdrawal penalty. The IRS can waive the deadline in limited circumstances beyond your control, but don’t count on it.
Where the Money Can Go
Pre-tax money from either Savings Plus plan can move to a traditional IRA, SEP-IRA, another 401(k), a 403(b), or another governmental 457(b).7Internal Revenue Service. Rollover Chart You can also roll into a Roth IRA, but you’ll owe income tax on the full converted amount in the year of the rollover, since Roth contributions are after-tax.
Rolling 457(b) money into a 401(k) or traditional IRA is allowed, but doing so changes the tax treatment of future withdrawals. Once 457(b) funds land in a 401(k) or IRA, they lose the exemption from the 10% early withdrawal penalty.2Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Exceptions to Tax on Early Distributions Under 59½ and might need the money before retirement? Keeping 457(b) funds in another 457(b) preserves that penalty-free access.
Submitting the Form
Three ways to get the completed form to Nationwide Retirement Solutions:8Savings Plus. Contact Us
- Fax to 1-877-677-4329. Immediate transmission confirmation.
- Mail to Nationwide Retirement Solutions, P.O. Box 182797, Columbus, OH. Certified mail if you want delivery confirmation.
- Upload through the secure document center at savingsplusnow.com.
Faxing or uploading tends to move faster than mailing a physical form to Ohio. Whichever method you choose, keep a copy of the signed form and your delivery confirmation.
How Long It Takes
Nationwide issues payment within 3 to 5 business days of receiving a properly completed form, with another 2 to 4 business days for the check to reach the receiving institution. A missing signature, unverified separation status, or a mismatched account detail will delay things while the recordkeeper contacts you for corrections. After the funds are liquidated and sent, you’ll receive a confirmation statement from Savings Plus and a Form 1099-R for tax reporting the following January.
When a Rollover Is Blocked or Reduced
Outstanding Loans
If you have an outstanding loan against your Savings Plus account when you separate, the remaining loan balance is treated as a distribution, called a plan loan offset. That offset is taxable income unless you roll an equivalent amount into another eligible retirement account.9Internal Revenue Service. Plan Loan Offsets For a qualified plan loan offset triggered by separation, the IRS gives you until your tax filing deadline (including extensions) to complete that rollover, instead of the usual 60 days. That can stretch to mid-October of the following year if you file an extension.
Your rollover check reflects only the cash balance after the offset. Owe $8,000 on a loan with $60,000 in the account, and the plan distributes $52,000 while reporting the $8,000 offset separately. Avoiding tax on the full $60,000 means rolling the $52,000 to the new plan and separately contributing $8,000 from your own funds to cover the offset.
Required Minimum Distributions
Once you reach the RMD starting age (currently 73 for individuals born between 1951 and 1959, rising to 75 for those born in 1960 or later), you must take annual withdrawals from tax-deferred retirement accounts. The RMD amount for any given year cannot be rolled over.6Internal Revenue Service. Rollovers of Retirement Plan and IRA Distributions If you’re at RMD age and request a full rollover, Savings Plus calculates the RMD, pays that portion to you as a taxable distribution, and rolls over only the remaining balance.
Pending Divorce Order
A Qualified Domestic Relations Order can award part of your Savings Plus account to a spouse or former spouse. A pending QDRO can freeze your account, and Savings Plus will not process a rollover until the order is resolved. If you’re mid-divorce and trying to move funds, check with the plan first.
If you’re the alternate payee receiving funds under a QDRO, you have the same rollover options as the participant. A spouse or former spouse can roll QDRO-distributed funds into their own IRA or eligible retirement plan tax-free.10Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – QDRO: Qualified Domestic Relations Order Distributions paid to a child or other dependent under a QDRO are taxed to the plan participant, not to the child.
Distribution Types That Can’t Be Rolled Over
Some money that comes out of a Savings Plus account is not eligible for rollover at all. The IRS excludes:6Internal Revenue Service. Rollovers of Retirement Plan and IRA Distributions
- Required minimum distributions
- Hardship withdrawals
- Loan amounts treated as distributions
- Substantially equal periodic payments under a 72(t) schedule
- Excess contributions and their earnings
If your distribution includes any of these components, the plan separates the non-rollover portion and sends it to you as a taxable payment. The rollover-eligible remainder goes to the receiving institution as directed on your form.