...for an indefinite duration. I'm still waiting for a disability payment, and am approaching having to declare bankruptcy.

Could that rule have changed with the new tax laws?

The operative word is may. If the employer plan doesn't provide for it there is likely no way to get one, other than leaving the company and rolling it over into an IRA.

The IRS rules about disability are used to avoid the 10% tax penalty on early withdrawals from retirement funds.

My recollections may be out of date or just plain wrong. It has been a long time since I looked into this.

The 401k provider is "researching" it, so I guess I'm not "dead in the water" yet.

The plan provider (administrator?) may provide their services to multiple companies all of which have a different plan document. They will have to look at the specific plan that applies to you. In any bureaucracy that is going to take time and multiple people to figure it out. They may require a prod every once in a while to keep the research moving.

Wishing you good luck!

I don't 'get' why you can't use it in a time of need. Kind of what it's for, no?

I understand that dissuading contributors from early withdrawals is a good thing, ultimately, for the contributor (my sister treated her 401k like a piggy bank so, when she retired she had $0 left in it). However, I've been disabled since the first of the yr, and have lost almost $35,000 in pay - disability has only replaced $3,000 of it.

The 401k provider kept telling me that if I have *existing* medical bills, I could apply for a hardship withdrawal. I actually have very good health insurance. However, my dilemma is that I'm flat broke and have no money for copays moving forward, so I haven't been able to get the treatments so I can return to work. If my Dr's would "bill" my copay, I could submit that. Except... no one ever "bills" copays. They are expected at the time of service. A classic Catch-22...

am assuming your HR dept., if you have one, can't help?

I wish I could offer you some pearls of wisdom, but I'm flat out of them. Good luck anyway.

...because "they need me back" (which made me feel good, for once ). But there seems to be confusion on the part of the 401k provider - they're "researching it" and will call me back by tomorrow.

Thank you for answering!

tomorrow!

that was deferred by being directed into a 401k so be careful.

Another option is to look into obtaining a loan off of your 401k. There is no tax penalty and you pay yourself back w/ a small rate of interest. You can usually determine the duration of the loan payback period within reason. However, if you were to leave the company and not roll the money over into another 401k and still had an outstanding balance, you would be responsible for the taxes on the balance outstanding plus a 10% penalty.

...so, unfortunately, that's not an option. Thank you for answering, though,

one. Especially if you think you will be going back to work so you can pay it off. I just took a second loan out for moving expenses. They weren't huge loans, but just some extra cash to have on hand when I needed it and a very small withdrawal from my paycheck.

Anyway, good luck with everything! I hope it all works out!