NIPA's updated Distribution Administrator Certificate Course is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of distributions from qualified retirement plans.

It is almost universal nowadays that TPAs and recordkeepers maintain separate departments to handle distributions. Perhaps more than any other function, distributions represent a potential area of liability for those who process them, as it is one of the few situations in which money – sometimes, lots of money – leaves the plan.

This course provides those who process distribution requests with a comprehensive review of the rules that apply, along with practical suggestions and applications that can give students real assistance in their work. The course has been completely updated for all SECURE and SECURE 2.0 changes in the distribution rules and guidance issued on those changes through early 2025.

Taught by Alison Cohen and Ilene Ferenczy, nationally recognized speakers and instructors and recipients of the NIPA Educator of the Year award, the modules convert this highly complex topic into clear, understandable, plain English segments with plenty of examples and tips and tricks to help you out.

Comprised of 19 segments of 30-50 minutes each, the course provides students with the various Internal Revenue Code and ERISA rules that apply to different distribution events and types – including retirement, termination of employment, in-service, hardship, and disability – and how the rules vary between defined contribution and defined benefit plans, and between employer-provided funds and employee-contributed monies. The course addresses both the determination of how much is due to a participant, as well as the actual distribution process from start to finish, including the elections the participant must make, withholding obligations, available rollovers, and required tax determination and reporting. What are the various methods by which a participant may take his or her money from the plan? We’ve got you. The plan requires payment in the form of annuities? It’s in there. What’s the difference between distributions of pre-tax accounts and Roth accounts and what is a qualified distribution? Yep, it’s covered.

In addition to distributions to terminated and retired participants, the course will address other distribution opportunities, such as in-service distributions, hardship withdrawals, distributions to active military and reservists, and distributions to former spouses and dependents pursuant to domestic relations orders. The special rules that apply to distributions made to a participant who has been affected by a natural disaster, to those who must take required minimum distributions, and to beneficiaries of deceased participants are also reviewed. Does the plan need to make corrective distributions due to testing failures or permissible withdrawals to a participant who wants to reverse automatic enrollment? Not a problem; these rules are also covered. The course even covers distributions occasioned by plan terminations and mergers.

Other practical issues related to distributions, such as missing participants, uncashed checks, and correcting distribution errors are also discussed. How does a TPA work with a recordkeeper to process distributions? Review Module 16 to find out.

Upon completion of this course, the student will have a comprehensive and practical knowledge of all aspects of plan distributions, with an emphasis on distributions from 401(k) plans and other defined contribution plans.

Each module can stand alone to enable a distribution administrator to review the rules of a particular issue when needed. The modules can also be combined with NIPA courses on related subjects, such as 401(k) plan administration, plan terminations, participant loans, or the fine points of determining vesting for a rehired participant.

Target Audience
The target audience for this course is an employee whose primary job responsibility is processing plan distributions, as well as an administrator who seeks to obtain a comprehensive overview of all aspects of plan administration. It is also well suited for HR professionals who may be responsible for fielding questions from plan participants about distributions from qualified retirement plans.

Course Overview
This course is comprised of 19 online lessons and an open-book exam (50 questions).

• Introduction to Distributions

• Forms of Benefits

• Accrued Benefits and Funding

• Vesting

• Forfeitures and Rehires

• In-Service Distributions

• Termination of Employment Distributions

• Retirement and Death Benefit Distributions (2-part)

• Rollovers

• Special Distributions: Roth and QDRO Distributions

• Special Distributions: Corrective Distributions, Permissible Withdrawals, and Returns of Plan Assets to the Employer

• Required Minimum Distributions (2-part)

• Plan Terminations, Mergers, Spinoffs (2-part)

• Taxation and Withholding

• Missing Participants and Uncashed Checks

• Working with Recordkeepers to Process Distributions

• Exam

The course takes approximately 12 hours to complete, not including the exam. Downloadable PDF handouts for each lesson.