A participant may elect to take a distribution from their 403(b) account when they have met one of the following triggering events:
- Attained age 59 ½ (in service)
- Severance from employment (however the participant is subject to early withdrawal penalty if a distribution is taken before age 55.)
- Death
- Disability
- Hardship (conditions apply)
A participant may elect to take a distribution from their 457 account upon the following triggering events:
- Attained age 70 ½ (in service)
- Severance from employment at any age
- Death
- Disability
- Unforeseen emergencies (conditions apply)
The type of events that qualify for a 403(b) Hardship withdrawal and a 457 unforeseen emergency distribution are different. A participant may be able to take a 403(b) hardship withdrawal to purchase a principal residence or to pay for tuition. However to take a 457 unforeseen emergency distribution, the event must truly be unforeseen so some 403(b) hardships would not be allowed under 457 unforeseen emergency. Both would allow distributions for medical bills, funeral expenses, to avoid foreclosure or eviction or due to a catastrophic event.
