How to Fill Out and Submit Voya Retirement Withdrawal Forms

To withdraw money from a Voya-administered retirement plan, start your request at VoyaRetirementPlans.com or call (800) 584-6001, and Voya will direct you to the correct Voya withdrawal form based on your employment status, your age, and the reason you need the money. Most straightforward distributions can be completed inside the online portal without printing anything. Transactions that need a spouse’s signature, a notary seal, or supporting documents — hardship withdrawals and beneficiary claims, mainly — require supplemental paperwork that Voya provides once you begin the request.

Which Voya Withdrawal Form Applies to You

Voya uses different forms depending on why you’re taking money out. Picking the right one at the start saves a rejection later.

Separation from service. If you no longer work for the employer sponsoring the plan, this form releases a full or partial distribution of your vested balance. It’s the standard choice for retirees and people who have changed jobs.
Age-based in-service withdrawal. If you’re still employed but have reached age 59½, most plans let you take money out without triggering the 10% early withdrawal penalty under Internal Revenue Code Section 72(t). Whether this option exists depends on your plan document.¹
Hardship withdrawal. For active employees facing an immediate and heavy financial need. You must certify in writing that you cannot meet the need through insurance, other assets, or a plan loan.²
Plan loan. If you’d rather borrow than take a permanent distribution, federal law caps plan loans at the lesser of 50% of your vested balance or $50,000, with a general five-year repayment. Loans used to purchase a primary residence get a longer window.³

Hardship Withdrawals Need More Paperwork

Hardship distributions are the most heavily regulated type and the form reflects that. IRS safe harbor rules recognize certain expenses as automatic qualifying needs: unreimbursed medical costs, buying a principal residence, tuition and related education costs for the next 12 months, payments to prevent eviction or foreclosure, funeral expenses, and certain repairs to a principal residence.²

The amount must be limited to what you actually need. Your employer can rely on your written representation that no other resources are available unless the employer has actual knowledge otherwise.² Expect Voya to ask for documentation matching the reason you claim: medical bills, an eviction notice, a tuition statement, or similar.

What to Gather Before You Start

Whatever form you end up filing, have these ready:

Plan ID number. This identifies your employer’s specific program inside Voya’s system. It’s on your account statements and in the portal.
Social Security number. Voya uses it for tax reporting and to issue your 1099-R.
Bank routing and account numbers. If you want an electronic deposit rather than a mailed check. A single transposed digit here is the fastest way to delay your money by weeks.
Tax withholding election. For distributions that are not eligible rollover distributions, you decide how much federal tax to withhold. If your state requires or allows state withholding, the form includes a section for it.
Receiving institution details. If you’re doing a direct rollover, you’ll need the new plan or IRA custodian’s name, address, and account number.

Spousal Consent Can Be Required

If you’re married and your plan is subject to the qualified joint and survivor annuity rules under ERISA, your spouse generally must sign a consent form before Voya releases funds. Plans that pay benefits as annuities — many defined benefit plans and some defined contribution plans — trigger this requirement, and the consent signature typically must be witnessed by a notary public or an authorized plan representative.⁴ If the lump-sum value of your benefit is small enough (historically $5,000, raised to $7,000 for distributions after 2023 under the SECURE 2.0 Act), the plan can pay it out without spousal consent.

A missing notary seal or a missing spousal signature is one of the most common reasons Voya rejects a form outright. Notary fees vary by state but typically run between $2 and $25 per signature.

How to Submit the Form

Initiating the request at VoyaRetirementPlans.com is the fastest route. For straightforward transactions like separation from service, age-based in-service withdrawals, and direct rollovers, many plans allow the entire request through the portal without printed paperwork.⁵

Transactions that need wet signatures — hardship withdrawals with spousal consent, notarized documents, beneficiary claims — require physical paperwork. Voya accepts uploads through the participant portal, faxed submissions, and mailed documents. The fax number and mailing address depend on your plan, because Voya routes different plans to different service centers, so use the numbers printed on the form instructions themselves. If you’re mailing originals with notarized signatures, send them by a trackable method.

One detail catches people out: electronic signatures on paper forms are typically not accepted and will cause a rejection. If you print a supplemental form, sign it by hand.

Taxes and Penalties Tied to Your Elections

The withholding box on the form is not cosmetic. It determines what actually lands in your account.

The 20% Mandatory Withholding

If you take an eligible rollover distribution paid directly to you rather than sent to another retirement plan or IRA, the plan must withhold 20% for federal income tax. This isn’t optional and you can’t elect a lower amount.⁶ You can elect a higher amount. If you plan to roll the money into another retirement account within 60 days, you’ll need to replace that withheld 20% from other funds to complete a full rollover; otherwise the withheld portion counts as a taxable distribution. A direct rollover avoids withholding entirely.⁷

The 10% Early Withdrawal Penalty

Distributions taken before age 59½ are generally subject to a 10% additional tax on top of regular income tax.⁸ Common exceptions include:

Separation from service in or after the year you turn 55 (age 50 for qualified public safety employees)
Total and permanent disability
Distributions after the participant’s death
A qualified domestic relations order paying an alternate payee
Unreimbursed medical expenses above 7.5% of adjusted gross income
A series of substantially equal periodic payments
Qualified birth or adoption expenses, up to $5,000 per child
Distributions to qualified military reservists called to active duty
Federally declared disaster recovery distributions, up to $22,000
Terminal illness certified by a physician

⁸

If you qualify for an exception but Box 7 of your 1099-R doesn’t reflect it, use IRS Form 5329 when you file to claim the exemption.

After You Submit

For distributions received in good order, Voya generally mails checks within two to three business days after approval, for both standard and hardship distributions.⁹ Electronic deposits post slightly faster than mailed checks. The phrase “in good order” is doing real work in that timeline: if anything is missing or wrong, Voya sends a notification explaining the fix and the clock restarts once you resubmit. You can track status through your dashboard or by calling (800) 584-6001.⁵

Why Forms Get Rejected

The most frequent problems that send forms back:

Missing or unsigned spousal consent when the plan requires it
No notary seal on documents that require notarization
Electronic signatures on paper forms instead of handwritten ones
Incorrect or transposed bank routing and account numbers
Using an outdated version of the form
A handwritten name or date that doesn’t match the name on the account profile

Checking the banking fields and every signature block before you send is what prevents most delays.

Situations That Use Different Paperwork

Some withdrawal-adjacent transactions don’t use the standard distribution form.

Beneficiary claims. If you’re claiming funds after a participant’s death, use Voya’s claims center at claimscenter.voya.com. You’ll need a certified copy of the death certificate and proof of your identity, plus any documents the claim form itself lists.¹⁰

Divorce and QDROs. Splitting a Voya account in a divorce requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, a court order directing the plan to pay a specified amount or percentage to an alternate payee.¹¹ Voya’s plan administrators review the QDRO for compliance with the plan document, which can add several weeks beyond normal timelines.

Required minimum distributions. Once you reach age 73, you generally must begin annual withdrawals from traditional retirement accounts, with your first RMD due by April 1 of the year after you turn 73 and subsequent RMDs due by December 31.¹² If you’re still working for the plan sponsor and don’t own 5% or more of the business, you can delay RMDs from that employer’s plan until you retire. Voya can calculate the amount through the portal or by phone, and many plans offer automatic annual RMDs so you don’t have to request one each year. Missing an RMD carries a 25% excise tax on the shortfall under IRC Section 4974, dropping to 10% if you correct it within the IRS correction window.¹³

Rollovers. To move a balance to a new 401(k) or IRA without taxes, request a direct rollover on the distribution form. Voya sends the funds straight to the receiving institution and nothing is withheld. If you take the money yourself and intend a 60-day rollover, you have exactly 60 days from receipt to deposit it into another retirement account; miss the window and the full distribution becomes taxable income, potentially with the 10% penalty on top.⁷ Because 20% was already withheld, completing a full rollover means replacing that amount from personal funds.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Substantially Equal Periodic Payments
2
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Hardship Distributions
3
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Plan Loans
4
Internal Revenue Service. Fixing Common Plan Mistakes – Failure to Obtain Spousal Consent
5
Voya Financial. Preparing to Request a Withdrawal
6
eCFR. 26 CFR 31.3405(c)-1 – Withholding on Eligible Rollover Distributions; Questions and Answers
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Internal Revenue Service. Rollovers of Retirement Plan and IRA Distributions
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Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Exceptions to Tax on Early Distributions
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Voya. Yum! Brands 401k Plan Frequently Asked Questions
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Voya Financial. Explore Forms Library
11
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – QDRO: Qualified Domestic Relations Order
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Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs
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Internal Revenue Service. Correcting Required Minimum Distribution Failures